Michelle Lindo-Rice's Blog, page 30
December 28, 2016
Welcome Suzette D. Harrison of the Seducing the Pen Tour
Taffy by Suzette D. Harrison
Twenty-three-year-old Taffy Bledsoe Freeman doesn’t need her gift of second sight to know her “mockery of a marriage” to a man twice her age is far good. After a seven-year exile Up North, Taffy travels down-home to the small town bearing her family’s name, plotting her escape from a marriage not worth the price of a press-and-curl. She only needs to retrieve the son her husband banished to her parents’ care, before boarding a train headed for the Windy City filled with liberty and opportunity. Instead, Taffy stumbles into Roam Ellis: her long-lost love and the man Taffy meant to marry.
Twenty-six-year-old Roam Ellis is a “broad-shouldered, hard-bodied” Pullman porter riding the rails coast-to-coast, outrunning the bitter heartbreak Taffy left behind. Now, after a seven-year absence, Roam is face-to-face with first love. Anger ignites. Old wounds are exposed. But when pain subsides, passion rises, thrusting Taffy and Roam into a hurricane of family secrets, betrayal, and lies. Bathed in southern lore and sweeping imagery, Taffy is a story of restoration and redemption that you won’t soon forget!
BOOK REVIEWS
“I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to let you know that you are a writer with a story to tell. You get 6 stars. [Taffy] was the best story I have read in quite some time.” –T. Davis
“Loved, loved, loved your book.” –K. Thompson
“I just finished reading your book Taffy and didn't want it to end! Thank you for taking me into another place and time. Please do it again!” –C. Hendrick
“There are few novels that render me speechless, but I can truly say that Taffy has succeeded in taking me on the literary journey of a lifetime.” –J. Blue
“For those who love an excellent love story as well as a nodding sense of African-American history, this is a book to read. Highly recommended.” –Patricia E. Canterbury, author of The Secret of Morton's End
“Taffy is a book to pass on to the generations. Thank you, Ms. Harrison.” –Dr. David Covin, Blue Nile Press
“Vividly realistic characters, colorful dialogue, and rich imagery combined with rare paranormal elements make Taffy a memorable read.” –Shobhan Bantwal, author of The Dowry Bride
CHAPTER EXCERPT
According to the chime of the grandfather clock, midnight came and went, finding Taffy sleepless. She’d counted stars, the chirp of cicadas. Nothing soothed. Irritable, Taffy climbed from bed, tucked the cool cotton sheet about Angel and tipped from the room. Quietly, she descended the stairs, heading for the kitchen and milk to warm. High-beams flashing across the wall sent her to the backdoor instead.
Cautiously she peered out, instantly recognizing the pick-up entering the gravel drive. “Drew?” Alarmed, Taffy prayed nothing was amiss with Chloe. Grabbing her mother’s sweater from the coat rack, Taffy tossed it over her shoulders, reaching the back porch just as Drew’s passenger pulled something from the truck bed.
“Hey, Taf, I promised Uncle T. we’d bring him a line,” Drew called from the driver’s seat, passenger already approaching the house with a string of fresh-caught fish.
“Where would you like these?” Roam asked, mounting the porch.
Tightening her mother’s sweater over her nightclothes, Taffy refused answers involving the man’s anatomy. “The kitchen sink’s fine.” Holding open the screen door, Taffy let Roam pass while glaring at Drew, wishing she had a brick for his head.
“You still know how to clean and gut fish, Miss Cosmopolitan?” Submerging the catch in a sink full of water, Roam looked over his shoulder at Taffy, hovering at the kitchen entrance, silent and not amused.
“I’m sure my father thanks you, but those fish could’ve held ‘til morning.” Nervously, Taffy fumbled with her sweater as if needing a shield.
Roam snickered, having already envisioned her in nothing but skin. “You okay?”
“Are you?” Taffy snapped, wishing up an extra brick.
They stood eyes locked, heat flowing between them. Roam approached. Taffy moved from the doorway, granting Roam room to leave. Instead, Roam leaned down, whispering, “I’ll be real good once we get some loving.”
“Satan is a lie, and Hell has room! I’m not interested in playing games in the backseat of some car with you.”
Roam laughed, low and deep. “Dollbaby, trust me, we won’t be playing.”
Ignoring the thrill shooting up her spine at the old endearment, Taffy held the door open. “Go home, Beelzebub. You’re wasting my life.”
Staying put, Roam chuckled before advising, “Lemme tell you like the Apostle Paul. ‘When I was a child I spoke like a child. Now that I’m grown I’ve put away childish things’.” Roam moved closer. “Backseat business is for hormonal kids. I’m all man. Our love-making won’t be kiddie-quick in the confines of a car.” Roam’s baritone dipped deeper. “Gonna use whatever room we need and take our time spreading all this heaven,” Roam slowly caressed Taffy’s hip, “real nice…and wide.” Grinning, Roam walked out, leaving Taffy utterly tongue-tied.
Drew’s truck was down the road before Taffy thawed enough to holler, “Red-headed crazy!” She doused the kitchen lights, fish forgotten, and mounted the stairs. Midway, Taffy plopped onto a step, leaning against the stairwell, head in hand. Roam Ellis was out of his unnatural mind and in need of an exorcism, if not an enema. Just the same…Taffy was stuck on Roam’s arrogant assertion.
“…once we get some loving.”
Roam’s sensual prediction incessantly circling her skull, Taffy uncomfortably squirmed atop the steps, something warm like bathwater seeping between her legs.
( Continued... )
© 2016 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Suzette D. Harrison. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
Purchase Taffy by Suzette D. Harrison
Link: https://amzn.com/1523298251
African-American Historical Romance/Historical Fiction
Discussion Topics: Love, redemption, and freedom
About the Author
Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary journey began when her poetry was published in her junior high school’s creative journal. While Suzette credits Gloria Naylor, Alex Haley, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison for inspiring her early in life, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings exemplified the life-changing power of African American literary voices to her. A wife and mother, Mrs. Harrison operates a small homebased cupcake business. She’s currently working on her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes. Visit Suzette at www.sdhbooks.com.
Intimate Conversation with Suzette D. Harrison
Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary journey began when her poetry was published in her junior high school’s creative journal. While Suzette credits Gloria Naylor, Alex Haley, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison for inspiring her early in life, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings exemplified the life-changing power of African American literary voices to her. A wife and mother, Mrs. Harrison operates a small homebased cupcake business. She’s currently working on her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes. Visit Suzette at www.sdhbooks.com.
BPM: Could you tell us something about your most recent work?
SDH: My most recent release, Taffy, could be classified as Historical Fiction or Historical Romance. Both work just fine. Taffy is a step back in time as she takes place in 1935. Her story is that of a young woman who’s been made to bear family secrets and lies too long in her young life. Now, she’s done! Her one goal is freedom from a truly foul marriage to a man twice her age—a marriage her mother forced her into. Sounds simple? No, indeed! It’s 1935! In Taffy’s time dissolution of marriage was far from easy. Still, Taffy is determined to live a free woman’s life. So she leaves…only to find herself tangled up with long-lost love in the six-foot-five-inch form of Roam Ellis: the man Taffy meant to marry.
Taffy’s story is one of redemption, exoneration and restoration. It’s seasoned with murder, mayhem, and enough romance to spice the pages in between. Taffy is available in paperback and eBook on Amazon, Kindle, Kobo & Nook!
BPM: Give us some insight into your main characters or speakers. What makes each one so special?
SDH: Let’s focus on the two central characters of any romantic plot: the heroine and the hero. As my heroine, Taffy is quite unique spiritually and physically. Spiritually, Taffy has the gift of clairvoyance. This gift is a legacy that graces select women in Taffy’s paternal line. These chosen women call her, the gift, Knowing. Yes, her; not it as this gift is very much tangible, physical even. Implausible? My response is a line from Taffy that I love: “if the Holy Spirit could transfigure into a dove certainly God’s Knowing could inhabit feminine form.” Physically, Taffy doesn’t embody a “typical” heroine’s form. She’s five-ten, voluptuous (think Serena Williams-plus); grey-eyed, and chocolate-skinned. She’s not delicate, physically or inwardly. This twenty-three year-old young woman possesses an amazing depth of strength! And trust, she’ll need it to overcome the crazy obstacles of her life.
Now, Mr. Hero, Roam Ellis! He’s a Pullman porter, a pragmatist, an alpha male and a man’s man. But when it comes to Taffy, he’s tried, “wrapped, tied, and tangled.” She hurt him once. He’s determined, never twice. For all his size and prowess, this man is weak to Taffy’s “unsullied seduction” and Roam finds that fractured heart open to Taffy but again. A preacher’s son and descendant of operatives of the Underground Railroad, Roam is protective. When Taffy’s life in jeopardized, Roam’s willing to go “to jail if not hell” saving the only woman he’ll ever love.
BPM: What inspired you to sit down and actually start writing this book? Why now?
SDH: Actually, I first glimpsed the silhouette of Taffy’s story after the release of my first contemporary novel back in 2002. I say “silhouette” because Taffy “then” isn’t Taffy “now”. In fact, that shadow, or forerunner, had an entirely different name…and agenda: revenge! Taffy—her true story, character and needs—had to marinate a mighty long while until I was able to fully receive who and what she was. And as for inspiration, it was a matter of asking “why” and “what if” questions about a situation in my own paternal line.
BPM: What genre of books do you write? Did you pick this genre or did it select you?
SDH: My first two novels are Contemporary African-American Fiction. Taffy is my first voyage into African-American Historical Fiction/Romance. And, Miss Ella, I love this question! I wasn’t seeking a change, per se. I just wanted to tell the stories of my heart. So, change and A.A. Historical Fiction definitely chose me!
BPM: Where do your book ideas come from? Are your books plot-driven or character-driven?
SDH: Sometimes I have dream sequences that I write down so as not to lose or forget them. They sometimes morph or grow into book ideas. Often, I might overhear or engage in conversations that spark ideas. I can be watching T.V. and something I see sets my mind rolling and racing. Or…one of my favorites…is simply responding to a scene, a sequence of events, a conversation with a “Well, what if…?”. What if this outcome instead of that occurs? What if the true motivation is something other than what we see? What if she’s lying?! ‘What if’s’ set my imagination free.
And I think, thus far, my books are character-driven as if the whole story is all about them and their world and their wants or ways. And that’s fine by me. I try to listen to my characters so that they lead me to the plot. In understanding my characters, I’m better able to understand what would or could happen in their worlds.
BPM: Do story lines come easy for you? Do you feel lonely being a writer?
SDH: Lovely question! Some storylines occur more fluently than others. Some are robust and I can see the thread connecting the story from beginning to end; whereas, others come in glimpses and snatches and I have to wait for the totality to be revealed.
Unless you’re part of a project or a team, writing is an isolated endeavor. As an author, you don’t share a cubicle or sit across the aisle from and take lunch breaks with coworkers. Writing is autonomous and alone and, yes, it can be lonely. But then God has granted lovely jewels of companionship for me.
I’m blessed to be a member of online organizations such as See Ya on The Net, and Building Relationships around Books (founded by LaShaunda Hoffman, and Sharon Blount, respectively). These are wonderfully supportive virtual communities for writers and readers that enable connectivity. I’m also blessed with wonderful sister-writer-friends, online and in-person. Harlequin Romance author, Sheryl Lister, and I live in close proximity so we “take our lunch breaks” and try to meet face-to-face regularly.
BPM: What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
SDH: Oh, Lord, everything! Taffy taught me to be a better writer. It was hard, tedious, tear-inducing work. But she was worth it. I learned to listen to my characters and not force my agenda down their throats. I learned it was okay to be different, and not just follow the flow. I loved writing at odd hours—late at night, early morning—while my family was asleep. I loved the lightbulb moments where a scene or character’s backstory or motivation unfolded itself to me. Taffy was my labor of love, and I absolutely loved stepping back in time and imagining this world from Taffy’s eyes in the year 1935.
BPM: How long does it take to complete one of your books?
SDH: My contemporary novels were completed in three to six months. Taffy? Years! And years. And…years.
BPM: Do you have any suggestions on becoming a better writer? If so, what are they?
SDH: 1) Listen! Don’t wrestle with your characters or your storyline. Listen! Are you telling their story or yours? Give your characters permission to talk to you. And they will. 2) Create a conducive writing atmosphere for yourself. Music. Candles. Quiet. Whatever you want and need. 3) Relax and read. Tension and stress are anti-productive; reading connects you to power and production of writing. A book in hand is inspiring.
BPM: What period of your life do you find you write about most often?
SDH: So far, my characters have been young adults (20’s-30’s). I do, however, have two children’s storybooks in the works.
BPM: How do you feel when someone disagrees with something you have written?
SDH: It happens! Every book isn’t for everyone. Of course no artist likes to be criticized or misunderstood, but I try to see such moments as growth opportunities. Is there truth in the critique or disagreement? Was something helpful said? If so, then I can draw from it. Discourse is discourse. Even when a reader disagrees, we’re still engaged in talking about my writing.
BPM: Are there under-represented groups or ideas featured in your book? If so, discuss them.
SDH: An underlying theme in Taffy is the power of women—in particular, African American females. Remember the context: Taffy occurs in 1935. That was two generations away from slavery and our rights weren’t fully established. African American women were highly underrepresented. Taffy paints a portrait of powerful, expressive women who dare to live, to breathe, to be.
BPM: How does your book relate to your present situation or journey?
SDH: Ms. Ella, I can’t possibly convey all the treasures Taffy has opened to me. Or the treasure that she is. I’m married. I’m in love. I have gorgeous children. Yet, I’m a woman striving and pressing to beautify my life in meaningfulways. As is Taffy. I’m learning to embrace the Spirit and His world more. So too, Taffy. My education is reflected in Taffy’s being decorated with history in that I hold an undergraduate degree in Black Studies. I’ve found commonalities between Taffy’s fictional and my real world family. It’s truly amazing! I’m connected to Taffy and Taffy to me.
BPM: Did you learn anything personal from writing your book?
SDH: Professionally, I learned to be a more expressive and free writer not assigning myself a role. Personally, as said before, I found real life treasures that I didn’t know existed until after Taffy’s release. I feel that the unearthing of those treasures are a direct result of my not just writing but releasing Taffy. Family history. Family gems. It was as if God said, “Okay, you did the work. Now enjoy the rewards.”
BPM: Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
SDH: Because my B.A. degree is in Black Studies, I was able to draw heavily from my undergrad studies. Research was minimal. What research I did, I was able to accomplish from the privacy of my home. I did, however, “meet” a fabulous book—Princes of the Road, by Dr. David Covin. It’s a novel and tribute to Pullman Porters. Reading it led to my making Dr. Covin’s acquaintance. Dr. Covin’s feedback and suggestions regarding Taffy proved invaluable. Princes also helped assure me that I was on the right track (pun intended) with Roam Ellis, Taffy’s forbidden love interest.
BPM: What were your goals and intentions in writing this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
SDH: My goal was to tell Taffy’s genuine, unadulterated story without mental or artistic censorship. I believe I did pretty good in listening to her voice so that she’s authentic, and not merely recycled or re-fabricated.
BPM: What does literary success look like to you?
SDH: Oh, Lord! It looks like running down the street with confetti poppers, passing out balloons and celebrating leaving my N.D.J. (Necessary Day Job) because readers are loving my writing and I’m earning a real living!
BPM: What projects are you working on at the present?
SDH: I’ve jumped back to my contemporary fiction and am working on a Dramedy (Drama/Comedy) I hope to release at the beginning of 2017.
BPM: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
SDH: My pleasure! And by the way, I absolutely love connecting with readers. So please do connect with me.
Book Trailier: http://bit.ly/2cMvsAt
Amazon Books: http://amzn.to/2cW5lrY
Web: www.sdhbooks.com
Email: sdhbooks@gmail.com
Goodreads: Suzette Harrison
Instagram: http://bit.ly/1sutYiw
Pinterest: http://bit.ly/23gvCPL
Twitter: http://bit.ly/1OxBOw5
Facebook: SDH Books or Suzette Harrison
Purchase Taffy by Suzette D. Harrison
Link: https://amzn.com/1523298251
African-American Historical Fiction
Twenty-three-year-old Taffy Bledsoe Freeman doesn’t need her gift of second sight to know her “mockery of a marriage” to a man twice her age is far good. After a seven-year exile Up North, Taffy travels down-home to the small town bearing her family’s name, plotting her escape from a marriage not worth the price of a press-and-curl. She only needs to retrieve the son her husband banished to her parents’ care, before boarding a train headed for the Windy City filled with liberty and opportunity. Instead, Taffy stumbles into Roam Ellis: her long-lost love and the man Taffy meant to marry.Twenty-six-year-old Roam Ellis is a “broad-shouldered, hard-bodied” Pullman porter riding the rails coast-to-coast, outrunning the bitter heartbreak Taffy left behind. Now, after a seven-year absence, Roam is face-to-face with first love. Anger ignites. Old wounds are exposed. But when pain subsides, passion rises, thrusting Taffy and Roam into a hurricane of family secrets, betrayal, and lies. Bathed in southern lore and sweeping imagery, Taffy is a story of restoration and redemption that you won’t soon forget!
BOOK REVIEWS
“I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to let you know that you are a writer with a story to tell. You get 6 stars. [Taffy] was the best story I have read in quite some time.” –T. Davis
“Loved, loved, loved your book.” –K. Thompson
“I just finished reading your book Taffy and didn't want it to end! Thank you for taking me into another place and time. Please do it again!” –C. Hendrick
“There are few novels that render me speechless, but I can truly say that Taffy has succeeded in taking me on the literary journey of a lifetime.” –J. Blue
“For those who love an excellent love story as well as a nodding sense of African-American history, this is a book to read. Highly recommended.” –Patricia E. Canterbury, author of The Secret of Morton's End
“Taffy is a book to pass on to the generations. Thank you, Ms. Harrison.” –Dr. David Covin, Blue Nile Press
“Vividly realistic characters, colorful dialogue, and rich imagery combined with rare paranormal elements make Taffy a memorable read.” –Shobhan Bantwal, author of The Dowry Bride
CHAPTER EXCERPT
According to the chime of the grandfather clock, midnight came and went, finding Taffy sleepless. She’d counted stars, the chirp of cicadas. Nothing soothed. Irritable, Taffy climbed from bed, tucked the cool cotton sheet about Angel and tipped from the room. Quietly, she descended the stairs, heading for the kitchen and milk to warm. High-beams flashing across the wall sent her to the backdoor instead.
Cautiously she peered out, instantly recognizing the pick-up entering the gravel drive. “Drew?” Alarmed, Taffy prayed nothing was amiss with Chloe. Grabbing her mother’s sweater from the coat rack, Taffy tossed it over her shoulders, reaching the back porch just as Drew’s passenger pulled something from the truck bed.
“Hey, Taf, I promised Uncle T. we’d bring him a line,” Drew called from the driver’s seat, passenger already approaching the house with a string of fresh-caught fish.
“Where would you like these?” Roam asked, mounting the porch.
Tightening her mother’s sweater over her nightclothes, Taffy refused answers involving the man’s anatomy. “The kitchen sink’s fine.” Holding open the screen door, Taffy let Roam pass while glaring at Drew, wishing she had a brick for his head.
“You still know how to clean and gut fish, Miss Cosmopolitan?” Submerging the catch in a sink full of water, Roam looked over his shoulder at Taffy, hovering at the kitchen entrance, silent and not amused.
“I’m sure my father thanks you, but those fish could’ve held ‘til morning.” Nervously, Taffy fumbled with her sweater as if needing a shield.
Roam snickered, having already envisioned her in nothing but skin. “You okay?”
“Are you?” Taffy snapped, wishing up an extra brick.
They stood eyes locked, heat flowing between them. Roam approached. Taffy moved from the doorway, granting Roam room to leave. Instead, Roam leaned down, whispering, “I’ll be real good once we get some loving.”
“Satan is a lie, and Hell has room! I’m not interested in playing games in the backseat of some car with you.”
Roam laughed, low and deep. “Dollbaby, trust me, we won’t be playing.”
Ignoring the thrill shooting up her spine at the old endearment, Taffy held the door open. “Go home, Beelzebub. You’re wasting my life.”
Staying put, Roam chuckled before advising, “Lemme tell you like the Apostle Paul. ‘When I was a child I spoke like a child. Now that I’m grown I’ve put away childish things’.” Roam moved closer. “Backseat business is for hormonal kids. I’m all man. Our love-making won’t be kiddie-quick in the confines of a car.” Roam’s baritone dipped deeper. “Gonna use whatever room we need and take our time spreading all this heaven,” Roam slowly caressed Taffy’s hip, “real nice…and wide.” Grinning, Roam walked out, leaving Taffy utterly tongue-tied.
Drew’s truck was down the road before Taffy thawed enough to holler, “Red-headed crazy!” She doused the kitchen lights, fish forgotten, and mounted the stairs. Midway, Taffy plopped onto a step, leaning against the stairwell, head in hand. Roam Ellis was out of his unnatural mind and in need of an exorcism, if not an enema. Just the same…Taffy was stuck on Roam’s arrogant assertion.
“…once we get some loving.”
Roam’s sensual prediction incessantly circling her skull, Taffy uncomfortably squirmed atop the steps, something warm like bathwater seeping between her legs.
( Continued... )
© 2016 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Suzette D. Harrison. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
Purchase Taffy by Suzette D. Harrison
Link: https://amzn.com/1523298251
African-American Historical Romance/Historical Fiction
Discussion Topics: Love, redemption, and freedom
About the Author
Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary journey began when her poetry was published in her junior high school’s creative journal. While Suzette credits Gloria Naylor, Alex Haley, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison for inspiring her early in life, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings exemplified the life-changing power of African American literary voices to her. A wife and mother, Mrs. Harrison operates a small homebased cupcake business. She’s currently working on her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes. Visit Suzette at www.sdhbooks.com.
Intimate Conversation with Suzette D. Harrison
Suzette D. Harrison, a native Californian, grew up in a home where reading was required, not requested. Her literary journey began when her poetry was published in her junior high school’s creative journal. While Suzette credits Gloria Naylor, Alex Haley, Alice Walker, Langston Hughes, and Toni Morrison for inspiring her early in life, Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings exemplified the life-changing power of African American literary voices to her. A wife and mother, Mrs. Harrison operates a small homebased cupcake business. She’s currently working on her next novel…in between batches of cupcakes. Visit Suzette at www.sdhbooks.com.BPM: Could you tell us something about your most recent work?
SDH: My most recent release, Taffy, could be classified as Historical Fiction or Historical Romance. Both work just fine. Taffy is a step back in time as she takes place in 1935. Her story is that of a young woman who’s been made to bear family secrets and lies too long in her young life. Now, she’s done! Her one goal is freedom from a truly foul marriage to a man twice her age—a marriage her mother forced her into. Sounds simple? No, indeed! It’s 1935! In Taffy’s time dissolution of marriage was far from easy. Still, Taffy is determined to live a free woman’s life. So she leaves…only to find herself tangled up with long-lost love in the six-foot-five-inch form of Roam Ellis: the man Taffy meant to marry.
Taffy’s story is one of redemption, exoneration and restoration. It’s seasoned with murder, mayhem, and enough romance to spice the pages in between. Taffy is available in paperback and eBook on Amazon, Kindle, Kobo & Nook!
BPM: Give us some insight into your main characters or speakers. What makes each one so special?
SDH: Let’s focus on the two central characters of any romantic plot: the heroine and the hero. As my heroine, Taffy is quite unique spiritually and physically. Spiritually, Taffy has the gift of clairvoyance. This gift is a legacy that graces select women in Taffy’s paternal line. These chosen women call her, the gift, Knowing. Yes, her; not it as this gift is very much tangible, physical even. Implausible? My response is a line from Taffy that I love: “if the Holy Spirit could transfigure into a dove certainly God’s Knowing could inhabit feminine form.” Physically, Taffy doesn’t embody a “typical” heroine’s form. She’s five-ten, voluptuous (think Serena Williams-plus); grey-eyed, and chocolate-skinned. She’s not delicate, physically or inwardly. This twenty-three year-old young woman possesses an amazing depth of strength! And trust, she’ll need it to overcome the crazy obstacles of her life.
Now, Mr. Hero, Roam Ellis! He’s a Pullman porter, a pragmatist, an alpha male and a man’s man. But when it comes to Taffy, he’s tried, “wrapped, tied, and tangled.” She hurt him once. He’s determined, never twice. For all his size and prowess, this man is weak to Taffy’s “unsullied seduction” and Roam finds that fractured heart open to Taffy but again. A preacher’s son and descendant of operatives of the Underground Railroad, Roam is protective. When Taffy’s life in jeopardized, Roam’s willing to go “to jail if not hell” saving the only woman he’ll ever love.
BPM: What inspired you to sit down and actually start writing this book? Why now?
SDH: Actually, I first glimpsed the silhouette of Taffy’s story after the release of my first contemporary novel back in 2002. I say “silhouette” because Taffy “then” isn’t Taffy “now”. In fact, that shadow, or forerunner, had an entirely different name…and agenda: revenge! Taffy—her true story, character and needs—had to marinate a mighty long while until I was able to fully receive who and what she was. And as for inspiration, it was a matter of asking “why” and “what if” questions about a situation in my own paternal line.
BPM: What genre of books do you write? Did you pick this genre or did it select you?
SDH: My first two novels are Contemporary African-American Fiction. Taffy is my first voyage into African-American Historical Fiction/Romance. And, Miss Ella, I love this question! I wasn’t seeking a change, per se. I just wanted to tell the stories of my heart. So, change and A.A. Historical Fiction definitely chose me!
BPM: Where do your book ideas come from? Are your books plot-driven or character-driven?
SDH: Sometimes I have dream sequences that I write down so as not to lose or forget them. They sometimes morph or grow into book ideas. Often, I might overhear or engage in conversations that spark ideas. I can be watching T.V. and something I see sets my mind rolling and racing. Or…one of my favorites…is simply responding to a scene, a sequence of events, a conversation with a “Well, what if…?”. What if this outcome instead of that occurs? What if the true motivation is something other than what we see? What if she’s lying?! ‘What if’s’ set my imagination free.
And I think, thus far, my books are character-driven as if the whole story is all about them and their world and their wants or ways. And that’s fine by me. I try to listen to my characters so that they lead me to the plot. In understanding my characters, I’m better able to understand what would or could happen in their worlds.
BPM: Do story lines come easy for you? Do you feel lonely being a writer?
SDH: Lovely question! Some storylines occur more fluently than others. Some are robust and I can see the thread connecting the story from beginning to end; whereas, others come in glimpses and snatches and I have to wait for the totality to be revealed.
Unless you’re part of a project or a team, writing is an isolated endeavor. As an author, you don’t share a cubicle or sit across the aisle from and take lunch breaks with coworkers. Writing is autonomous and alone and, yes, it can be lonely. But then God has granted lovely jewels of companionship for me.
I’m blessed to be a member of online organizations such as See Ya on The Net, and Building Relationships around Books (founded by LaShaunda Hoffman, and Sharon Blount, respectively). These are wonderfully supportive virtual communities for writers and readers that enable connectivity. I’m also blessed with wonderful sister-writer-friends, online and in-person. Harlequin Romance author, Sheryl Lister, and I live in close proximity so we “take our lunch breaks” and try to meet face-to-face regularly.
BPM: What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
SDH: Oh, Lord, everything! Taffy taught me to be a better writer. It was hard, tedious, tear-inducing work. But she was worth it. I learned to listen to my characters and not force my agenda down their throats. I learned it was okay to be different, and not just follow the flow. I loved writing at odd hours—late at night, early morning—while my family was asleep. I loved the lightbulb moments where a scene or character’s backstory or motivation unfolded itself to me. Taffy was my labor of love, and I absolutely loved stepping back in time and imagining this world from Taffy’s eyes in the year 1935.
BPM: How long does it take to complete one of your books?
SDH: My contemporary novels were completed in three to six months. Taffy? Years! And years. And…years.
BPM: Do you have any suggestions on becoming a better writer? If so, what are they?
SDH: 1) Listen! Don’t wrestle with your characters or your storyline. Listen! Are you telling their story or yours? Give your characters permission to talk to you. And they will. 2) Create a conducive writing atmosphere for yourself. Music. Candles. Quiet. Whatever you want and need. 3) Relax and read. Tension and stress are anti-productive; reading connects you to power and production of writing. A book in hand is inspiring.
BPM: What period of your life do you find you write about most often?
SDH: So far, my characters have been young adults (20’s-30’s). I do, however, have two children’s storybooks in the works.
BPM: How do you feel when someone disagrees with something you have written?
SDH: It happens! Every book isn’t for everyone. Of course no artist likes to be criticized or misunderstood, but I try to see such moments as growth opportunities. Is there truth in the critique or disagreement? Was something helpful said? If so, then I can draw from it. Discourse is discourse. Even when a reader disagrees, we’re still engaged in talking about my writing.
BPM: Are there under-represented groups or ideas featured in your book? If so, discuss them.
SDH: An underlying theme in Taffy is the power of women—in particular, African American females. Remember the context: Taffy occurs in 1935. That was two generations away from slavery and our rights weren’t fully established. African American women were highly underrepresented. Taffy paints a portrait of powerful, expressive women who dare to live, to breathe, to be.
BPM: How does your book relate to your present situation or journey?
SDH: Ms. Ella, I can’t possibly convey all the treasures Taffy has opened to me. Or the treasure that she is. I’m married. I’m in love. I have gorgeous children. Yet, I’m a woman striving and pressing to beautify my life in meaningfulways. As is Taffy. I’m learning to embrace the Spirit and His world more. So too, Taffy. My education is reflected in Taffy’s being decorated with history in that I hold an undergraduate degree in Black Studies. I’ve found commonalities between Taffy’s fictional and my real world family. It’s truly amazing! I’m connected to Taffy and Taffy to me.
BPM: Did you learn anything personal from writing your book?
SDH: Professionally, I learned to be a more expressive and free writer not assigning myself a role. Personally, as said before, I found real life treasures that I didn’t know existed until after Taffy’s release. I feel that the unearthing of those treasures are a direct result of my not just writing but releasing Taffy. Family history. Family gems. It was as if God said, “Okay, you did the work. Now enjoy the rewards.”
BPM: Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
SDH: Because my B.A. degree is in Black Studies, I was able to draw heavily from my undergrad studies. Research was minimal. What research I did, I was able to accomplish from the privacy of my home. I did, however, “meet” a fabulous book—Princes of the Road, by Dr. David Covin. It’s a novel and tribute to Pullman Porters. Reading it led to my making Dr. Covin’s acquaintance. Dr. Covin’s feedback and suggestions regarding Taffy proved invaluable. Princes also helped assure me that I was on the right track (pun intended) with Roam Ellis, Taffy’s forbidden love interest.
BPM: What were your goals and intentions in writing this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
SDH: My goal was to tell Taffy’s genuine, unadulterated story without mental or artistic censorship. I believe I did pretty good in listening to her voice so that she’s authentic, and not merely recycled or re-fabricated.
BPM: What does literary success look like to you?
SDH: Oh, Lord! It looks like running down the street with confetti poppers, passing out balloons and celebrating leaving my N.D.J. (Necessary Day Job) because readers are loving my writing and I’m earning a real living!
BPM: What projects are you working on at the present?
SDH: I’ve jumped back to my contemporary fiction and am working on a Dramedy (Drama/Comedy) I hope to release at the beginning of 2017.
BPM: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
SDH: My pleasure! And by the way, I absolutely love connecting with readers. So please do connect with me.
Book Trailier: http://bit.ly/2cMvsAt
Amazon Books: http://amzn.to/2cW5lrY
Web: www.sdhbooks.com
Email: sdhbooks@gmail.com
Goodreads: Suzette Harrison
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Purchase Taffy by Suzette D. Harrison
Link: https://amzn.com/1523298251
African-American Historical Fiction
December 26, 2016
Welcome D. Michele Jackson of the Seducing the Pen Book Tour
Join the Lipstick Blog Tour with D. Michele JacksonHosted by Ella Curry and the SEDUCING THE PEN BOOK TOUR
Order JOY – Jesus on You by D. Michele JacksonFrom the writer introduced in "Amazing Grace: A Tribute to You, The Story of Us", D. Michele Jackson returns with questions. Is it not the right to be well in a country that offers civil liberties? This is a question Secret poses on her quest to revise the Nineteenth Amendment. On a mission to secure equality and address the social issues that plague health, Donna is chiming for change in her novel that is based on a true story, “JOY: Jesus on You”.A native of the “City of Brotherly Love” and a registered nurse, Secret is on a mission to secure equality and address the social issues that plague health. She’ll also decide once and for all, if love conquers all.
In the midst of a bitter divorce weeks before Christmas in 2011, Secret finds herself in a small, Southern courtroom pitted in a vicious dogfight against The Paper. Secret is divorcing a retired sheriff deputy, who is working on a second career in law enforcement, who had a payroll deposit going into a bank account not listed in his name and a vehicle that he denied having, even though there was clear documentation that he is purchased the car. The Paper is a former police officer willing to break laws to protect his double life, even if it means committing perjury.
As she detangles herself in a fictional contract socially accepted as marriage, a document Secret deemed as “final,” Secret is lied to, deceived, and demoralized. What’s worst is the judge’s final verdict states clearly that Secret will also be displaced from her home. It is a home she’d won fairly. It’s a home she deserved. As the winds of change blow, Secret’s new normal is shaky, what isn’t is her sense of purpose.
Secret decides to take on the establishment, one that seems bent in destroying her. Besides her faith in God, it helps that as a nurse, Secret has had seventeen years of experience of what she recited at graduation, “I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession in the practice of my calling.” Ultimately it’s clear that the local and federal court systems and the Paper offer her a platform to argue for wellness as a legal nurse consultant.
After her observation of threats to health as it relates to marriage, divorce, and law, she begins to question the definition of health as defined by the World Health Organization, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Over the next two years, she will submit brief after brief for judicial review, advocating for healthcare reform, especially when it comes to matters of divorce. Secret goes from that small courtroom in Georgia to argue in the United States Supreme Court. She isn’t ready or even able, but she chooses to fight the good fight—she chooses this fight, not with anger, but with heart, and she chooses this fight for all of us.
A narrative that is both heartfelt and impassioned, this novel loosely based on a true story is told in the first person from a retrospective point of view. As she offers a chronological glimpse of her journey, Secret considers her relationships prior to her marriage; each of these relationships offers health data that could be used for arguments pertaining to health in which she submitted for judicial review. Secret offers readers a biopic on sexually charged, if failed relationships, but the most telling health facts come from the man she divorces. Her experiences are reinforced by the statistical numbers presented by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that, “Women account for one in four people living with HIV in the United States.”
In a Congressional Public Health and Safety Report, an argument is put forth that Congress consider the country’s wellness. Secret lends her voice. A voice that echoes what once sounded to promote women’s suffrage, “…liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants….” The issues include suffrage; healthcare cost; the uninsured; decreasing transmission of HIV/AIDS; criminal justice; unemployment; education; increased divorce rates; promotion of healthy families; and holding courts accountable to judicial prudence decisions, as they have a direct effect on health. Health is a universal right, and neglect of is an offense to well-being.
It’s the United States Supreme Court that Secret comes up against her greatest challenge to help ensure wellness. Secret requested to introduce Maslow Hierarchy of Human Needs. Secret’s stay request to an individual justice was on the grounds of Bounds v. Smith, which states, “The fundamental constitutional right of access to the courts held States must assure the indigent defendant an adequate opportunity to present his claims fairly.” Rivals against “justice for all” presented at the United States Supreme Court clerk who disregards the court rules preventing Secret’s stay application from being reviewed by an individual justice and the attorney who shows due diligence in defaming his oath that, “I offer fairness, integrity, and civility. I will seek reconciliation and, if we fail, I will strive to make our dispute a dignified one.”
Though blindsided and further disenchanted, Secret forwards a brief to the Department of Justice requesting a federal investigation pursuant to a constitutional rights violation, Section 35 of the Judiciary Act of 1789, Federal Statute 42 US 1983. She argues threat to civic danger, obligation to exercise judicial review by disregarding purported laws if they violate the Constitution, and addresses the rights of people worldwide. After being ignored by every system designed for protection against crimes, Secret writes to the 113th Congress for relief, and takes advantage of the opportunity to request policy changes as a politically active nurse requesting legislation that makes it a crime for a spouse to become infected while married related to failure to disclose sexual orientation.
Secret is currently waiting for a congressional response. It’s time for change.
Order JOY – Jesus on You by D. Michele Jackson
Novel Based on a True Story
Travels of the Promises Trilogy (Book 2)
http://www.dmichelejackson.com
eBook Release Date: December 06, 2016
About the Author
Donna M. Jackson is an African-American woman, a Philadelphia native, Tuskegee University alumna, and a Registered Nurse. Writing as D. Michele Jackson, she now adds writer, published, politically active nurse to her accolades. Her sociology studies at Tuskegee University and twenty year nursing career enabled Donna to be prepared when the opportunity of Legal Nurse Consultant availed itself as she represented herself Pro Se in court. That experience allowed Donna to draft briefs during a historical time affording her a voice advocating for health. Donna submitted argument to Congress supporting amending the Nineteenth Amendment. Website: http://www.dmichelejackson.comBAN Radio Show Book ChatListen to D. Michele discuss the book with Ella Curry the host of BAN Radio Show and the creator of the Women of a New Sisterhood Movement.
Featured book chat for JOY: Jesus on You by D. Michele Jackson
http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/CTzZlWKk
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Intimate Conversation with D. Michele JacksonDonna M. Jackson is an African-American woman, a Philadelphia native, Tuskegee University alumna, and a Registered Nurse. Writing as D. Michele Jackson, she now adds writer, published, politically active nurse to her accolades. Her sociology studies at Tuskegee University and twenty-year nursing career enabled Donna to be prepared when the opportunity of Legal Nurse Consultant availed itself as she represented herself Pro Se in court. That experience allowed Donna to draft briefs during a historical time affording her a voice advocating for health. Donna submitted argument to Congress supporting amending the Nineteenth Amendment. Mission is to encourage, educate, and empower.BPM: Could you tell us something about your most recent work?
People who know me will always have a story of me singing in some off beat. I finally hit the perfect note with “JOY”. It is the story of a woman’s divorce experience that afforded her a voice for wellness.
As a defendant representing herself Pro Se, the main character finds herself presenting argument explaining why she should not become homeless post-divorce. Scheduled to be heard last by the presiding judge allowed the defendant to use her nursing assessment skills as she listened to a divorce case. Honing in on health after hearing the judge’s verdict, the defendant was able to make a nursing diagnosis. The judicial system dropped the gavel against well-being, and it becomes the defendants quest to fight not only for herself, but an ailing nation as well. The book is available on Nook and Kindle.
BPM: Give us some insight into your main characters or speakers. What makes each one so special?
The main character is the defendant. She takes us on a journey of the men she dated prior to marriage, and how each of the relationships offered facts for consideration in legal briefs forwarded to the Supreme Court of the state of origin, which led to the United States Supreme Court. It is the man she’s divorcing that allows a platform writing as a Legal Nurse Consultant. In hindsight, after failed relationships, the other characters enabled the defendant to form opinions on health. The once defendant, final brief is to Congress presenting argument supporting amending the Nineteenth Amendment. The experience could be considered the epitome of taking lemons and making lemon aid.
BPM: What inspired you to sit down and actually start writing this book? Why now?
The story started with me writing what I thought would be a good and entertaining read. Twice, I understood God to say, “That’s not the story.” I stopped writing. When I decided to begin writing again (after divorcing), the story had written itself. Now, that’s God!
Inspiration to me is always my Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. The women who spoke into my spirit. The smirk on the man I divorced face at my most vulnerable point in life. My battered heart. The possibilities that await as a result of sharing my story. The book was written at the perfect time as history is on my side.
BPM: What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
People often remember me as always wanting to be a nurse. What many don’t know, my motivation to go to nursing school was to have a career that would offer me a salary I could live off working part-time while attending law school. Later in my career I learned about Legal Nurse Consultants. The older I became, I had a peculiar interest in law. As difficult the journey has been, I find pleasure in the fact “JOY” took me to the halls of justice as a self-taught consultant practicing Constitutional Law.
BPM: Where do your book ideas come from? Are your books plot-driven or character-driven?
“Amazing Grace: A Tribute to You, The Story of Us” is the first book of a trilogy. “JOY: Jesus on You” is the second book. Both “Amazing Grace” and “JOY” were divinely inspired. “Amazing Grace” is an introduction of me written in a memoir. I would have to say it is character driven. My second book comes across as plot-driven.
“JOY” is the mark I hope to leave on society. “JOY” is an extension of “Amazing Grace” in both stories you see a woman of faith. In “Amazing Grace” the woman is trying to find her way to proper positioning before God. In “JOY” the woman is being used by God to fulfill His plan and purpose in her life. Both are stories of change offering hope and liberation.
BPM: Are there under-represented groups or ideas featured in your book? If so, discuss them.
As taught as a student attending Drexel University, School of Nursing, I presented to Congress as a politically active nurse advocating for health. I wrote to the 113th Congress, submitting bipartisan opportunity to holistically reform health and promote preventative care for: women, children, men, elderly, gay, poor, and rich. Globally, women are not progressing socially and economically as men. That fact is reflected in my own profession. “Men are more likely to be found in highly-paid nursing occupations. Among men and women in the same nursing occupations, men out earn women.” Retrieved January 28, 2016: http://blogs.census.gov/2013/02/25/men-in-nursing-occupations
I advocated for health from every perspective impeding well-being.
BPM: How does your book relate to your present situation or journey?
Currently I am staying with a friend and her family. I wrote the briefs from the homes of people in multiple states. Since divorce, my health suffered as a result of working understaffed as a nurse. Currently, my position has caused a reinjure. The home that I won fairly and was displaced from was my home office as well. I was working on a start-up business promoting health.
Prior to marriage, I was talking to my first boyfriend as he gave advice regarding my consideration of getting a second job. He advised, the answer is not getting a second job. You need to find one good job paying adequately. I divorced a man who suggested I should get a second job. My father concurred with the first advice received. The man I divorced signed papers allowing the business. I presented the document to the judge as one of my exhibits. He documented the proof submitted as “voluminous”.
I’m very humbled when it comes to my education, and my memoir explains why. My personality is one that tucks my intelligence away, and I prefer to exhibit my fun and loving characteristics when interacting with people. However, after being grossly disrespected through the divorce process, I had no problem with reaching into my pocket of knowledge, combined with endowed wisdom from God and show the dishonest rendering that God will use an unknown from the hood to address injustices.
I am grateful for my relationship with God. Without the Lord on my side, I would have crumbled and died.
BPM: Did you learn anything personal from writing your book?
I had to consider how strategic I was in approaching marriage. I asked what I thought to be all the right questions. Important to me was knowing if he was a believer of the resurrection of Christ. I was honest with who I was as a person, and that included the baggage I carried; my goals, ambitions, and desires as an individual and a wife. Although at this point, I only remember my discussions of me as an individual. I think that is because I never had a realistic opportunity of being a wife with the man I divorced, and unfortunately I learned that fact after becoming married.
My time as a single woman again has broadened my views on matrimony. A more telling line of questioning would have been related to can God trust you with my heart. Are you the man God has sent to relive me of the turmoil that lies within? Do you understand the importance of relationship with God and the role it plays as a husband who can cover his wife in prayer allowing her to become the help meet God created? Are you committed to the vows? I believe had these points been addressed, the issues that were discussed prior to marriage would have proven insignificant because we would have truly been on one accord. Subtly, I had been groomed for marriage my entire life; as excited I was about becoming engaged, I marveled at finally having my opportunity to love a man wholeheartedly as I have always known the holy state of matrimony is endearing to God.
I would have to say I learned how much God is on point in all that He does.
BPM: Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
The only “research” I had to do for the book was legal related. As a result, I was truly at the mercy of some people. I reached out to many people for help. I met kind and helpful law students. I met law students with sealed lips. I met honest attorneys. I met corrupt attorneys. I reached out to people who could care less. My favorite attorney was Attorney Johnny Cochran. After learning that I may have given the benefit of doubt too freely in many instances regarding attorneys, I never forwarded my request for help to his firm. I made that decision as a result of my experiences with requesting assistance. I didn’t want to risk having his name tarnished in my memory.
BPM: What were your goals and intentions in writing this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
First and foremost, to honor Jehovah. To offer the world His Son, Jesus – The coming Messiah. To reveal Him as a loving God that loves us all the same. Then, to honor the sacrifices of my mother. I also wanted to pay tribute to talented people, prominent figures, women who paved the way, and leaders who made a difference so that I would have opportunity to do the same for others. I’m proud to say I nailed my goals.
BPM: What projects are you working on at the present?
Inspired by the last ten years of my life which have been quite traumatic for me, I recall how this slippery slope began with me in a hospital with my mother waiting to go in the operating room. It was in that holding room I now understand that a promise for everlasting life was initiated and sealed with a kiss. I present as that vessel that offers what Abraham Maslow describes as fulfilling Self Actualization.
The Lipstick Movement is a vision of mine with a focus on upward mobility. Welcome to the Lipstick Blog Tour: http://thelipstickmovement.com
BPM: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
Website: http://www.dmichelejackson.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DMicheleJackson
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dmichelejackson
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chimingforchange
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/DMicheleJackson
December 25, 2016
Michelle's 5-Star Reads of 2016 - An Eclectic List of Goodies
I have an Eclectic reading taste! I read and enjoy different genres. I'm not afraid to try a new author, but I also stick to my faves! I enjoyed another great read by Sandra Brown, read Jodi Picoult for the first time in years, if ever and revisited my old fashioned historical romances.
I used Goodreads to help me find my 5-Star Reads of 2016. They are not arranged in any order but SMALL GREAT THINGS is my absolute favorite read this year! Thought-Provoking. It was nominated in Goodreads as a literary fiction read of the year and that honor was well-deserved.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I can't speak enough about this read. I was riveted from beginning to end. Reading Ruth's, Turk's and Kennedy's real and honest portrayal of racism and it's lasting impact will stay with me for some time. An amazing, well-crafted novel with some surprises and a satisfying conclusion is what you'll get from Small Great Things. Read the Author's note!!! ....This book reminds me of Victoria Christopher Murray's Stand Your Ground, which was also a 5-star read.
Sting by Sandra Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sandra Brown is one of my favorite authors. She never disappoints. Sting was filled with twists and turns and so many surprises. I read this in hours. Excellent read. Loved Jude and Jordie's story.
The Pastor's Husband by Tiffany L. Warren
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a tale from start to end. From the title to the cover, I enjoyed Tiffany Warren's read. There was a big lesson to be learnt about trusting God and allowing Him to lead. I have enjoyed other works from Tiffany and she did it again with this read!
View all my reviews
When I'm Gone by Emily Bleeker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
From the beginning to the end, I was caught up in the storyline. It warmed my heart. I would read it again!
Purchase Your CopyCopycat by Kimberla Lawson Roby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
First off, I love the title, Copycat. How fitting! From page one until the end, Copycat takes on a journey of every author's nightmare. But it also touches on how easy it can be to cross over the line from admiration to jealousy/envy. A big takeaway is how we cannot be too quick to open our hearts and lives to someone without getting to know them well. Our heroine, Traci so badly wanted a friend that she ignored the warning signs because Simone came with several red flags. Simone, a product of her past, accurately represented the person who repeats the same cycle and makes the same mistakes but refuses to change. Simone had everything she needed but she wasn't satisfied. As I read, all I could think about was how we needed to be content with what we have. We have to learn that no matter the state we're in, to be content. A thoughtful read that opens up conversations and hopefully some life-changing reflection.
Release Date: January 31, 2017
Purchase your CopyGone by Elisabeth Naughton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Raegan and Alec had a powerful love. As parents, they went through a huge devastation in the abduction of their child. This kind of tragedy can either pull people closer or tear them apart. Three years after they lost their daughter, Raegan and Alec are reunited because of similar case and realize their feelings haven't changed, Filled with suspense, romance, intrigue and justice, Gone kept me glued until the end. I enjoyed the flawed characters and how they were able to overcome their past. I enjoyed this book very book. It had all the elements needed for great story-telling that makes me eager to read more of Elisabeth Naughton.
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Only Beloved by Mary Balogh
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed George and Dora's story. I loved the fact that the hero and heroine were older. I finished it in one day. I laughed and I cried. Superb storytelling. I definitely want to read the rest of the books in the series.
View all my reviews
The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The opening line!! Need I say more. I could sip my tea and watch that. I really enjoyed Jude Deveraux' homage to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She drew me in from the first line until the last. I read it in hours. I loved it! The humor, the secrets and a satisfying conclusion kept me glued until the end.
Playing the Hand You're Dealt by Trice Hickman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book had a storyline that had me glued. Love is complicated but the question remains, Can we help who we love? Emily had be turning the pages until the end. Skilled writing by Trice Hickman.
Rescued By a Lady's Love by Christi Caldwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love Beauty and the Beast. Any variation of that storyline has me hooked! I loved it from the start to the end. I would read this again!
The Heart of a Scoundrel by Christi Caldwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've read several of Christi Caldwell's books and enjoyed them. I was glad to see the ruthless earl finally meet his match. Edmund and Phoebe's story had me enraptured from beginning to end. I love historicals and romances so this HEA warmed my heart.
The Winter Reunion by Rhonda McKnight
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read The Winter Reunion in less than an hour and it was time well spent. Once I began, I was pulled into the storyline. It was clear this story would live up to the beautiful cover! I found the plot intriguing. Anne and Stephen's reunion and love story shows us the enduring power of love and the blessing that comes with forgiveness. It also clearly shows the hand of God and if we open ourselves to listen to Him, we will find peace... and in this case, true love. Everything in this read has meaning. The dialogue was seamless and the scripture references made the story authentic. Another amazing job by Rhonda McKnight. Loved it.
I used Goodreads to help me find my 5-Star Reads of 2016. They are not arranged in any order but SMALL GREAT THINGS is my absolute favorite read this year! Thought-Provoking. It was nominated in Goodreads as a literary fiction read of the year and that honor was well-deserved.
Small Great Things by Jodi PicoultMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I can't speak enough about this read. I was riveted from beginning to end. Reading Ruth's, Turk's and Kennedy's real and honest portrayal of racism and it's lasting impact will stay with me for some time. An amazing, well-crafted novel with some surprises and a satisfying conclusion is what you'll get from Small Great Things. Read the Author's note!!! ....This book reminds me of Victoria Christopher Murray's Stand Your Ground, which was also a 5-star read.
Sting by Sandra BrownMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sandra Brown is one of my favorite authors. She never disappoints. Sting was filled with twists and turns and so many surprises. I read this in hours. Excellent read. Loved Jude and Jordie's story.
The Pastor's Husband by Tiffany L. WarrenMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a tale from start to end. From the title to the cover, I enjoyed Tiffany Warren's read. There was a big lesson to be learnt about trusting God and allowing Him to lead. I have enjoyed other works from Tiffany and she did it again with this read!
View all my reviews
When I'm Gone by Emily BleekerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
From the beginning to the end, I was caught up in the storyline. It warmed my heart. I would read it again!
Purchase Your CopyCopycat by Kimberla Lawson RobyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
First off, I love the title, Copycat. How fitting! From page one until the end, Copycat takes on a journey of every author's nightmare. But it also touches on how easy it can be to cross over the line from admiration to jealousy/envy. A big takeaway is how we cannot be too quick to open our hearts and lives to someone without getting to know them well. Our heroine, Traci so badly wanted a friend that she ignored the warning signs because Simone came with several red flags. Simone, a product of her past, accurately represented the person who repeats the same cycle and makes the same mistakes but refuses to change. Simone had everything she needed but she wasn't satisfied. As I read, all I could think about was how we needed to be content with what we have. We have to learn that no matter the state we're in, to be content. A thoughtful read that opens up conversations and hopefully some life-changing reflection.
Release Date: January 31, 2017
Purchase your CopyGone by Elisabeth NaughtonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Raegan and Alec had a powerful love. As parents, they went through a huge devastation in the abduction of their child. This kind of tragedy can either pull people closer or tear them apart. Three years after they lost their daughter, Raegan and Alec are reunited because of similar case and realize their feelings haven't changed, Filled with suspense, romance, intrigue and justice, Gone kept me glued until the end. I enjoyed the flawed characters and how they were able to overcome their past. I enjoyed this book very book. It had all the elements needed for great story-telling that makes me eager to read more of Elisabeth Naughton.
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Only Beloved by Mary BaloghMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed George and Dora's story. I loved the fact that the hero and heroine were older. I finished it in one day. I laughed and I cried. Superb storytelling. I definitely want to read the rest of the books in the series.
View all my reviews
The Girl from Summer Hill by Jude DeverauxMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
The opening line!! Need I say more. I could sip my tea and watch that. I really enjoyed Jude Deveraux' homage to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. She drew me in from the first line until the last. I read it in hours. I loved it! The humor, the secrets and a satisfying conclusion kept me glued until the end.
Playing the Hand You're Dealt by Trice HickmanMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book had a storyline that had me glued. Love is complicated but the question remains, Can we help who we love? Emily had be turning the pages until the end. Skilled writing by Trice Hickman.
Rescued By a Lady's Love by Christi CaldwellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I love Beauty and the Beast. Any variation of that storyline has me hooked! I loved it from the start to the end. I would read this again!
The Heart of a Scoundrel by Christi CaldwellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've read several of Christi Caldwell's books and enjoyed them. I was glad to see the ruthless earl finally meet his match. Edmund and Phoebe's story had me enraptured from beginning to end. I love historicals and romances so this HEA warmed my heart.
The Winter Reunion by Rhonda McKnightMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I read The Winter Reunion in less than an hour and it was time well spent. Once I began, I was pulled into the storyline. It was clear this story would live up to the beautiful cover! I found the plot intriguing. Anne and Stephen's reunion and love story shows us the enduring power of love and the blessing that comes with forgiveness. It also clearly shows the hand of God and if we open ourselves to listen to Him, we will find peace... and in this case, true love. Everything in this read has meaning. The dialogue was seamless and the scripture references made the story authentic. Another amazing job by Rhonda McKnight. Loved it.
December 21, 2016
Welcome Sadeqa Johnson of the Seducing the Pen Tour
Second House from the Corner: A Novel
by Sadeqa Johnson
In the tradition of I Don’t Know How She Does It, Second House from the Cornercenters on the story of Felicia Lyons, a stay-at-home mother of three drowning in the drudgeries of play dates, lost pacifiers and potty training who occasionally wonders what it would be like to escape the demands of motherhood.
"A captivating tale to savor about a woman whose buried past threatens her picture perfect family life. Felicia is a wonderfully flawed, compelling main character, one who has stayed with me long after I finished the book. A winning novel from a writer to watch." -Benilde Little, bestselling author
Felicia Lyons, a stressed out stay-at-home mom, struggles to sprint ahead of the demands of motherhood while her husband spends long days at the office. Felicia taps, utters mantra, and breathes her way through most situations, but on some days, like when the children won’t stop screaming her name or arguing over toy trucks and pretzel sticks, she wonders what it would be like to get in her car and drive away.
Then one evening the telephone rings, and in a split second the harried mother’s innocent fantasy becomes a hellish reality. The call pulls her back into a life she’d rather forget. Felicia hasn’t been completely honest about her upbringing, and her deception forces her return to the Philadelphia of her childhood, where she must confront the family demons and long buried secrets she thought she had left behind.
From a phenomenal fresh voice in fiction, comes the compelling story of what happens when the dream falls apart. Sadeqa Johnson's Second House from the Corner is an unforgettable tale of love, loss, rediscovery, and the growing pains of marriage.
Felicia Lyons is a character who mothers can identify with and laugh along with. You can't help but cheer for her in Johnson's engaging and well-written novel.
PRAISE FOR SADEQA JOHNSON
“A captivating tale to savor…Felicia is a wonderfully flawed, compelling main character, one who has stayed with me long after I finished the book. A winning novel from a writer to watch.” —Benilde Little, bestselling author of Welcome to My Breakdown and Good Hair
"Sadeqa Johnson is one of those authors you rarely find these days. Her gift of writing sings on every page. When reading her second novel, Second House From the Corner, you can't help feeling like you just received a letter from an old friend.... or an old lover. It is a must read!" —Here's the Story Bookstore in Union, NJ
Excerpt from Second House from the Corner: A Novel
PART 1To love means to embrace and at the same time to withstand many endings, and many many beginnings— all in the same relationship. — Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Witching Hour
That four-hour window between after-school pickup and bedtime? It’s like walking a tightrope with groceries in both hands. The slightest hiccup will land any mother in a quagmire with her legs in the air. For me the whole afternoon was a fail. I locked myself out when I went to pick the kids up from school, but didn’t notice the missing house keys until I pulled into the driveway. The snacks had been demolished at the playground, so the hunger meltdown began on the drive to my husband’s office for the spare key (a drive that usually takes seven minutes, but ended up being twenty round-trip because of traffic). Things got even shoddier once I discovered we were out of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. My children will not eat baked chicken unless I dip the pieces in buttermilk, roll them in cornflakes, and bake until crispy. The oven was preheated, the potatoes were boiling for the mash, and I was thirty-three minutes off schedule without the magic cereal that makes my chicken finger-licking good. No time to change the dinner plan. So I swap in seasoned bread crumbs and cross my toes that they won’t notice.
“Mama, this doesn’t taste right.” My son, Rory, frowns.
“Just eat it. There are children right down the street who are starving.”
“But it’s disgusting,” whines Twyla.
How does a four-year-old know what disgusting is?
“Just eat.”
“I have to go pee pee and poo poo.”
“Stop smiling at me. Mommy, she’s smiling.”
“Can we just have dessert?”
“Maaaaaaaa.”
“Mommmmm.”
“Momeeeeeeee.”
Like a song on repeat. Like it’s the last word in the English dictionary. They call “Mommy” until my lips pucker, eyebrows knit. And it takes all my strength not to respond with that inside voice that nobody hears, that you wish would stay quiet, that tells the truth you don’t want anyone to know. That damn voice is hollering. Shut the fuck up!
At what point do I get to shout What the fuck do you want from me? I wouldn’t drop an F-bomb in front of the mommy crew at the park, and I hate to see parents on the street cursing out their kids. But here in my kitchen with everything working against me, I would like to liberate myself just once and let the profanity rip. It’s the nipping at my nerves that gets me. The feasting on my flesh like starved sea urchins. Them, fighting like thieves for their individual piece of me. Me feeling like I have nothing left to give. Any mother who says that she has never felt like her whole life was being sucked out through her nostrils is a damn liar. I feel it every day. Especially when I don’t get at least five hours of shut-eye, like last night.
Twyla (whom I call Two) walked her four-year-old self into my room every hour complaining about being scared. Scared of what? The curtain, the bed, the wall—she had an excuse for each visit. Never mind that she had to walk past her father to get to me. They never bother him. It’s always Mommy. So I upped and downed all night while he slept like a hibernating black bear. Breathe. I hate when I feel like this. My chest rising and falling. Momentum of failure piled. Anxiety has swept through my belly and is curled against my organs like a balled fist. Just one happy pill would make it all better. But I’ve been on the happiness-comes-from within kick for a few months, so no more pills. Instead I’ve started tapping.
Tapping out my emotions so I can get back to feeling right. It’s that new technique where I say what my issue is and use my fingertips and hit my meridian points until I’m back to even. It usually takes about five minutes and several rounds before I feel centered and strong. My husband, Preston, calls it woo-woo, but he’s not at home with three children all day. I am, and I have to use what I’ve got to carry me through. I turn my back to the kids at the kitchen table, take two fingers, and tap the side of my hand while whispering my setup statement.
“Even though I feel stressed out, anxious, and tired of being alone and responsible for my kids I love and accept myself.”
“Mommy, what are you doing?”
“Calming down.” I try whispering the statement again but Tywla is out of her seat.
“My stomach hurts.”
Rory puts his fork down. “I’m full.”
My fingers stop. I haven’t made it through one minute, much less the five I need. I take a deep breath and usher everyone upstairs. Maybe Preston will surprise me and come home early. The damn voice laughs. When was the last time he did that? He never makes it home before their bedtime and I bet that’s on purpose.
Rory moans. “That’s my boat.”
“Dad gave it to me.”
“No, he didn’t.”
Breathe. “Cut it out and get undressed.”
I run their bath and sneak in a quick tap. Repeating my setup statement, I move from my hand to my forehead, to the side of my eye, under my eye, under my lip, under my chin, full hand on chest, bra strap and top of the head. Fill my lungs with air and exhale. Twyla and Rory are back. I read my body. Better.
“Can I bring this in the tub, pretty please?” Twyla clutches the mesh bag with their toys.
“Sure.”
They climb into the bathtub and play. This should give me a few minutes alone with the baby.
“Guys, I’m going to change Liv into her pajamas. No water on the floor.”
“Can we have more bubbles?”
“No.”
“Awwww, man,” Rory replies, imitating Swiper the Fox. “You only gave us a little bit.”
I cut my eyes in the direction of my six-year-old and hold his gaze for a beat longer so that he knows I mean business.
The upstairs of our house is small, and it only takes three long strides to the girls’ bedroom. Liv, the baby, squirms in my arms and I find solace burying my head in her neck. I could sit and smell this child all day. At ten months old, she still has that fresh-to-the-earth smell that forces me to slow my pace. It’s hard to look at her without feeling deep sighs of relief. She is our miracle child.
When I was twenty weeks pregnant with Liv, a routine sonogram found something suspicious. I was sent to the Robert Woods Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick to see a pediatric cardiologist. There was a pinch in her heart that could hemorrhage. Her chances of being stillborn were high. When the doctor suggested that we terminate the pregnancy, I was bilious. By then I had already heard her heart beat, felt her flutter and kick, loved her. Preston didn’t even look my way when he simply told the batch of white coats that we would take our chances.
On our way home, the traffic on the Garden State Parkway held us hostage. I slobbered and blubbered against the passenger seat window, trudging through my past, knowing which karmic act brought this down on our family. My husband kept patting my hand, but when that didn’t work, he pulled our ice-cream-truck size SUV over to the side of the road and pressed the hazard lights.
“Foxy, look at me.” He is the only person who calls me Foxy, and even with hearing my personal pet name, I couldn’t bring my eyes to his. Tilting my damp chin, he forced eye contact. “This is not your fault.”
But it is.
“You trust me?”
I shake my head, of course, because there really is no other response when your husband asks you that question.
“So the baby is healed. It’s done, no more worries.” Preston clapped his hands, as if he had just entered a contract with God.
“Now stop blaming yourself, you didn’t do anything.”
As our vehicle crawled up the Parkway, he informed me that we’d name her Liv.
“Not short for anything. Just Liv.”
I knew what I had done to deserve this even though my husband did not. I wanted it to be all right. Needed something to cling too, so I agreed to everything that Preston offered because the only hope I had for a favorable outcome was him. I had burned my bridge with God a long time ago.
( Continued... )
© 2016 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Sadeqa Johnson. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
Purchase Second House from the Corner: A Novel
Contemporary Women Fiction
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWAM
Barnes & Noble: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWBN
Books-a-Million: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWBAM
iBooks: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWIB
Indiebound: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWIN
Walmart: http://smarturl.it/SHFBAWWAL
About the Author
SADEQA JOHNSON is a former public relations manager who spent years working with well-known authors such as JK Rowling, Bebe Moore Campbell, Amy Tan and Bishop TD Jakes before becoming an author herself. Her debut novel, LOVE IN A CARRY-ON BAG was hailed by Ebony.com as “this summer’s hottest read.” It was the recipient of the 2013 Phillis Wheatley award for Best Fiction and the 2012 USA Best Book award for African-American fiction. Originally from Philadelphia, she now resides in Virginia with her husband and three children. SECOND HOUSE FROM THE CORNER is her second novel. For more visit: http://www.sadeqajohnson.com
Intimate Conversation with Sadeqa Johnson
Sadeqa Johnson is a former public relations manager who spent years working with well-known authors such as JK Rowling, Bebe Moore Campbell, Amy Tan and Bishop TD Jakes before becoming an author herself. Her debut novel, LOVE IN A CARRY-ON BAG was hailed by Ebony.com as “this summer’s hottest read.” It was the recipient of the 2013 Phillis Wheatley award for Best Fiction and the 2012 USA Best Book award for African-American fiction. Originally from Philadelphia, she now resides in Virginia with her husband and three children. SECOND HOUSE FROM THE CORNER is her second novel.
BPM: When did you get your first inkling to write, and how did you advance the call for writing?
I’m originally from Philadelphia. As a kid, I started off wanting to be an actress. When I graduated high school, I moved to New York and attended Marymount Manhattan College as a Theatre Arts major. It was as a student that I started fooling around with poetry, which turned to playwriting, screenwriting and ended up with novel writing. I landed a job working in publishing after college and it was there that I became very serious about my writing. My first novel, Love in a Carry-on Bag took me over ten years to finish. I started writing it when I was a publicity manager at G.P Putnam’s Sons.
Every day I would close my office door at four o’clock and write for the last hour of the workday. On my commute home, I edited the pages. Once I got married, I left my corporate job to write and raise my children, but still nursed a burning desire to tell stories. I wrote during naptimes, between feedings, in the midst of sleep deprivation and my kid’s ear infections. The daily pressures of caring for a young family motivated me to finish the book. I was very much like Felicia in Second House From the Corner. As much as I loved being a mother, I didn’t want that role to be my only claim. I knew that it was important for me to carve out something that was only for me, and writing novels was it. My novels are my legacy.
BPM: What makes your writing different than others?
I’m a lover of words and keep a thick, old school thesaurus on my desk, which I use to deepen the meaning of the text. I don’t like to rush when I’m writing, and I’ll work on a paragraph for three days if it takes that long to make it sound good. Although I’m a commercial fiction writer, I work to bring poetry, beauty and music to my work. My goal is to make readers pause over a delicious sentence, giving them no choice but to read it again.
BPM: Can you share a little of your current work with us? Introduce us to your book and the characters.
I love everything about Second House From the Corner. In the novel, Felicia Lyons, a stressed out stay-at-home mom struggles to sprint ahead of the demands of motherhood, while her husband spends long days at the office. Felicia taps, utters mantra and breathes her way through most situations but on some days, like when the children won’t stop screaming her name or arguing over toy trucks and pretzel sticks, she wonders what it would be like to get in her car and drive away.
Then one evening the telephone rings, and in a split second Felicia’s innocent fantasy becomes a hellish reality. The call pulls her back into a life she’d rather forget. Felicia hasn’t been completely honest about her upbringing, and her deception forces her return to the Philadelphia of her childhood, where she is forced to confront the family demons and long buried secrets she thought she had left behind.
BPM: Did you learn anything personal from writing this book?
I wrote Second House From the Corner in about a year and a half, which was much different from my ten-year haul with Love in A Carry-on Bag. I learned to outline and draft quickly, and then to just punch the story out and fix it later. There were a lot of loving hands that touched Second House From the Corner and for that I am so grateful and utterly proud of the finished product.
BPM: What would you like to accomplish after this book is released?
Don’t laugh, but my deepest desire is to be on the New York Times best sellers list. I have been putting that out into the Universe since day one so I know it’s going to happen. I also plan to sell the movie rights and be paid (well) to consult on set as the movie is being filmed. My children are going to love walking the red carpet. Selling the foreign rights and seeing my novel printed in several languages would also make me happy. Eventually I’d like to teach a writing group and get out on the motivational speaking circuit.
BPM: Are any scenes from the book borrowed from your world or your experiences?
Oh, yes. I am a mother of three children. My kids were about the age of Felicia’s when I started writing the book and a lot of her experience of feeling overwhelmed and worn out with the duties involved with caring for small children was what I felt as a young mother. I still feel it at least four times a week. She taps her way through it, I go to hot yoga, run and meditate to find my center.
BPM: What should readers DO after reading this book?
Tell all of their friends to buy a copy. I really believe it takes a village to make a best seller. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising so please, please tell a friend. Your review on goodreads.com and all of the retailer’s website would also be wonderfully helpful.
BPM: What are your career goals as a writer? Have you accomplished most of them?
Right now I really admire Attica Locke. She wrote a book called The Cutting Season that I couldn’t put down. Then one night I was watching the show Empire, and her name popped up in the credits as producer and writer. Immeditately, I had goosebumps. I’m so proud of my fellow writers when they cross over and do big things. As I sat watching, I thought, could I write for television? Mmmm, I’m just going to let that thought marinate. Hosting a show on television would also tickle my fancy.
BPM: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
I’ve realized that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Every moment in my life from going to college in New York City as Theatre arts major, to my first two jobs in publishing as a publicist, to starting my own publishing house and having to do everything possible to get the word out on Love in a Carry-on Bag has led me to this moment. I’ve worked hard, I deserve to be right here and my future is even brighter. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me.
BPM: What are you the most thankful for now?
I’m grateful for my health and the health of my family and close friends. I enjoy waking up every morning, getting my kids off to school (most times without arguments and tears but not always), putting on a pot of coffee and going to work in my robe. God is always amazingly good to me. Oh, and I have a sexy, supportive husband to boot.
BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
Don’t quit. Writing takes time and dedication and it is very important to be true to the craft. Take writing classes, form a writing group and read as much as you can. Give yourself time and permission to grow, and be patient with yourself. Believe in your creativity above all. Allow the magic to flow.
BPM: What’s next?
I’m working on my third novel, And Then There Was Me. It’s about deception and betrayal. It’s scheduled to be published by Thomas Dunne Books spring of 2017 so stay tuned. And click right over to my website, www.sadeqajohnson.net and subscribe to my blog. I’ll keep the latest news listed there. I’m on all of the social media outlets so get in touch with me. I’d really love to hear from you.
Love, Light and Laughter.
Connect with Sadeqa Johnson
http://www.sadeqajohnson.net
https://twitter.com/sadeqasays
https://instagram.com/sadeqasays
https://www.facebook.com/SadeqaJohnson
Purchase Second House from the Corner: A Novel
iBooks: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWIB
Indiebound: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWIN
Walmart: http://smarturl.it/SHFBAWWAL
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWAM
Barnes & Noble: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWBN
Books-a-Million: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWBAM
by Sadeqa Johnson
In the tradition of I Don’t Know How She Does It, Second House from the Cornercenters on the story of Felicia Lyons, a stay-at-home mother of three drowning in the drudgeries of play dates, lost pacifiers and potty training who occasionally wonders what it would be like to escape the demands of motherhood.
"A captivating tale to savor about a woman whose buried past threatens her picture perfect family life. Felicia is a wonderfully flawed, compelling main character, one who has stayed with me long after I finished the book. A winning novel from a writer to watch." -Benilde Little, bestselling author
Felicia Lyons, a stressed out stay-at-home mom, struggles to sprint ahead of the demands of motherhood while her husband spends long days at the office. Felicia taps, utters mantra, and breathes her way through most situations, but on some days, like when the children won’t stop screaming her name or arguing over toy trucks and pretzel sticks, she wonders what it would be like to get in her car and drive away.
Then one evening the telephone rings, and in a split second the harried mother’s innocent fantasy becomes a hellish reality. The call pulls her back into a life she’d rather forget. Felicia hasn’t been completely honest about her upbringing, and her deception forces her return to the Philadelphia of her childhood, where she must confront the family demons and long buried secrets she thought she had left behind.
From a phenomenal fresh voice in fiction, comes the compelling story of what happens when the dream falls apart. Sadeqa Johnson's Second House from the Corner is an unforgettable tale of love, loss, rediscovery, and the growing pains of marriage.
Felicia Lyons is a character who mothers can identify with and laugh along with. You can't help but cheer for her in Johnson's engaging and well-written novel.
PRAISE FOR SADEQA JOHNSON
“A captivating tale to savor…Felicia is a wonderfully flawed, compelling main character, one who has stayed with me long after I finished the book. A winning novel from a writer to watch.” —Benilde Little, bestselling author of Welcome to My Breakdown and Good Hair
"Sadeqa Johnson is one of those authors you rarely find these days. Her gift of writing sings on every page. When reading her second novel, Second House From the Corner, you can't help feeling like you just received a letter from an old friend.... or an old lover. It is a must read!" —Here's the Story Bookstore in Union, NJ
Excerpt from Second House from the Corner: A Novel
PART 1To love means to embrace and at the same time to withstand many endings, and many many beginnings— all in the same relationship. — Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The Witching Hour
That four-hour window between after-school pickup and bedtime? It’s like walking a tightrope with groceries in both hands. The slightest hiccup will land any mother in a quagmire with her legs in the air. For me the whole afternoon was a fail. I locked myself out when I went to pick the kids up from school, but didn’t notice the missing house keys until I pulled into the driveway. The snacks had been demolished at the playground, so the hunger meltdown began on the drive to my husband’s office for the spare key (a drive that usually takes seven minutes, but ended up being twenty round-trip because of traffic). Things got even shoddier once I discovered we were out of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. My children will not eat baked chicken unless I dip the pieces in buttermilk, roll them in cornflakes, and bake until crispy. The oven was preheated, the potatoes were boiling for the mash, and I was thirty-three minutes off schedule without the magic cereal that makes my chicken finger-licking good. No time to change the dinner plan. So I swap in seasoned bread crumbs and cross my toes that they won’t notice.
“Mama, this doesn’t taste right.” My son, Rory, frowns.
“Just eat it. There are children right down the street who are starving.”
“But it’s disgusting,” whines Twyla.
How does a four-year-old know what disgusting is?
“Just eat.”
“I have to go pee pee and poo poo.”
“Stop smiling at me. Mommy, she’s smiling.”
“Can we just have dessert?”
“Maaaaaaaa.”
“Mommmmm.”
“Momeeeeeeee.”
Like a song on repeat. Like it’s the last word in the English dictionary. They call “Mommy” until my lips pucker, eyebrows knit. And it takes all my strength not to respond with that inside voice that nobody hears, that you wish would stay quiet, that tells the truth you don’t want anyone to know. That damn voice is hollering. Shut the fuck up!
At what point do I get to shout What the fuck do you want from me? I wouldn’t drop an F-bomb in front of the mommy crew at the park, and I hate to see parents on the street cursing out their kids. But here in my kitchen with everything working against me, I would like to liberate myself just once and let the profanity rip. It’s the nipping at my nerves that gets me. The feasting on my flesh like starved sea urchins. Them, fighting like thieves for their individual piece of me. Me feeling like I have nothing left to give. Any mother who says that she has never felt like her whole life was being sucked out through her nostrils is a damn liar. I feel it every day. Especially when I don’t get at least five hours of shut-eye, like last night.
Twyla (whom I call Two) walked her four-year-old self into my room every hour complaining about being scared. Scared of what? The curtain, the bed, the wall—she had an excuse for each visit. Never mind that she had to walk past her father to get to me. They never bother him. It’s always Mommy. So I upped and downed all night while he slept like a hibernating black bear. Breathe. I hate when I feel like this. My chest rising and falling. Momentum of failure piled. Anxiety has swept through my belly and is curled against my organs like a balled fist. Just one happy pill would make it all better. But I’ve been on the happiness-comes-from within kick for a few months, so no more pills. Instead I’ve started tapping.
Tapping out my emotions so I can get back to feeling right. It’s that new technique where I say what my issue is and use my fingertips and hit my meridian points until I’m back to even. It usually takes about five minutes and several rounds before I feel centered and strong. My husband, Preston, calls it woo-woo, but he’s not at home with three children all day. I am, and I have to use what I’ve got to carry me through. I turn my back to the kids at the kitchen table, take two fingers, and tap the side of my hand while whispering my setup statement.
“Even though I feel stressed out, anxious, and tired of being alone and responsible for my kids I love and accept myself.”
“Mommy, what are you doing?”
“Calming down.” I try whispering the statement again but Tywla is out of her seat.
“My stomach hurts.”
Rory puts his fork down. “I’m full.”
My fingers stop. I haven’t made it through one minute, much less the five I need. I take a deep breath and usher everyone upstairs. Maybe Preston will surprise me and come home early. The damn voice laughs. When was the last time he did that? He never makes it home before their bedtime and I bet that’s on purpose.
Rory moans. “That’s my boat.”
“Dad gave it to me.”
“No, he didn’t.”
Breathe. “Cut it out and get undressed.”
I run their bath and sneak in a quick tap. Repeating my setup statement, I move from my hand to my forehead, to the side of my eye, under my eye, under my lip, under my chin, full hand on chest, bra strap and top of the head. Fill my lungs with air and exhale. Twyla and Rory are back. I read my body. Better.
“Can I bring this in the tub, pretty please?” Twyla clutches the mesh bag with their toys.
“Sure.”
They climb into the bathtub and play. This should give me a few minutes alone with the baby.
“Guys, I’m going to change Liv into her pajamas. No water on the floor.”
“Can we have more bubbles?”
“No.”
“Awwww, man,” Rory replies, imitating Swiper the Fox. “You only gave us a little bit.”
I cut my eyes in the direction of my six-year-old and hold his gaze for a beat longer so that he knows I mean business.
The upstairs of our house is small, and it only takes three long strides to the girls’ bedroom. Liv, the baby, squirms in my arms and I find solace burying my head in her neck. I could sit and smell this child all day. At ten months old, she still has that fresh-to-the-earth smell that forces me to slow my pace. It’s hard to look at her without feeling deep sighs of relief. She is our miracle child.
When I was twenty weeks pregnant with Liv, a routine sonogram found something suspicious. I was sent to the Robert Woods Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick to see a pediatric cardiologist. There was a pinch in her heart that could hemorrhage. Her chances of being stillborn were high. When the doctor suggested that we terminate the pregnancy, I was bilious. By then I had already heard her heart beat, felt her flutter and kick, loved her. Preston didn’t even look my way when he simply told the batch of white coats that we would take our chances.
On our way home, the traffic on the Garden State Parkway held us hostage. I slobbered and blubbered against the passenger seat window, trudging through my past, knowing which karmic act brought this down on our family. My husband kept patting my hand, but when that didn’t work, he pulled our ice-cream-truck size SUV over to the side of the road and pressed the hazard lights.
“Foxy, look at me.” He is the only person who calls me Foxy, and even with hearing my personal pet name, I couldn’t bring my eyes to his. Tilting my damp chin, he forced eye contact. “This is not your fault.”
But it is.
“You trust me?”
I shake my head, of course, because there really is no other response when your husband asks you that question.
“So the baby is healed. It’s done, no more worries.” Preston clapped his hands, as if he had just entered a contract with God.
“Now stop blaming yourself, you didn’t do anything.”
As our vehicle crawled up the Parkway, he informed me that we’d name her Liv.
“Not short for anything. Just Liv.”
I knew what I had done to deserve this even though my husband did not. I wanted it to be all right. Needed something to cling too, so I agreed to everything that Preston offered because the only hope I had for a favorable outcome was him. I had burned my bridge with God a long time ago.
( Continued... )
© 2016 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Sadeqa Johnson. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
Purchase Second House from the Corner: A Novel
Contemporary Women Fiction
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWAM
Barnes & Noble: http://smarturl.it/SHFCAWBN
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About the Author
SADEQA JOHNSON is a former public relations manager who spent years working with well-known authors such as JK Rowling, Bebe Moore Campbell, Amy Tan and Bishop TD Jakes before becoming an author herself. Her debut novel, LOVE IN A CARRY-ON BAG was hailed by Ebony.com as “this summer’s hottest read.” It was the recipient of the 2013 Phillis Wheatley award for Best Fiction and the 2012 USA Best Book award for African-American fiction. Originally from Philadelphia, she now resides in Virginia with her husband and three children. SECOND HOUSE FROM THE CORNER is her second novel. For more visit: http://www.sadeqajohnson.com
Intimate Conversation with Sadeqa Johnson
Sadeqa Johnson is a former public relations manager who spent years working with well-known authors such as JK Rowling, Bebe Moore Campbell, Amy Tan and Bishop TD Jakes before becoming an author herself. Her debut novel, LOVE IN A CARRY-ON BAG was hailed by Ebony.com as “this summer’s hottest read.” It was the recipient of the 2013 Phillis Wheatley award for Best Fiction and the 2012 USA Best Book award for African-American fiction. Originally from Philadelphia, she now resides in Virginia with her husband and three children. SECOND HOUSE FROM THE CORNER is her second novel.BPM: When did you get your first inkling to write, and how did you advance the call for writing?
I’m originally from Philadelphia. As a kid, I started off wanting to be an actress. When I graduated high school, I moved to New York and attended Marymount Manhattan College as a Theatre Arts major. It was as a student that I started fooling around with poetry, which turned to playwriting, screenwriting and ended up with novel writing. I landed a job working in publishing after college and it was there that I became very serious about my writing. My first novel, Love in a Carry-on Bag took me over ten years to finish. I started writing it when I was a publicity manager at G.P Putnam’s Sons.
Every day I would close my office door at four o’clock and write for the last hour of the workday. On my commute home, I edited the pages. Once I got married, I left my corporate job to write and raise my children, but still nursed a burning desire to tell stories. I wrote during naptimes, between feedings, in the midst of sleep deprivation and my kid’s ear infections. The daily pressures of caring for a young family motivated me to finish the book. I was very much like Felicia in Second House From the Corner. As much as I loved being a mother, I didn’t want that role to be my only claim. I knew that it was important for me to carve out something that was only for me, and writing novels was it. My novels are my legacy.
BPM: What makes your writing different than others?
I’m a lover of words and keep a thick, old school thesaurus on my desk, which I use to deepen the meaning of the text. I don’t like to rush when I’m writing, and I’ll work on a paragraph for three days if it takes that long to make it sound good. Although I’m a commercial fiction writer, I work to bring poetry, beauty and music to my work. My goal is to make readers pause over a delicious sentence, giving them no choice but to read it again.
BPM: Can you share a little of your current work with us? Introduce us to your book and the characters.
I love everything about Second House From the Corner. In the novel, Felicia Lyons, a stressed out stay-at-home mom struggles to sprint ahead of the demands of motherhood, while her husband spends long days at the office. Felicia taps, utters mantra and breathes her way through most situations but on some days, like when the children won’t stop screaming her name or arguing over toy trucks and pretzel sticks, she wonders what it would be like to get in her car and drive away.
Then one evening the telephone rings, and in a split second Felicia’s innocent fantasy becomes a hellish reality. The call pulls her back into a life she’d rather forget. Felicia hasn’t been completely honest about her upbringing, and her deception forces her return to the Philadelphia of her childhood, where she is forced to confront the family demons and long buried secrets she thought she had left behind.
BPM: Did you learn anything personal from writing this book?
I wrote Second House From the Corner in about a year and a half, which was much different from my ten-year haul with Love in A Carry-on Bag. I learned to outline and draft quickly, and then to just punch the story out and fix it later. There were a lot of loving hands that touched Second House From the Corner and for that I am so grateful and utterly proud of the finished product.
BPM: What would you like to accomplish after this book is released?
Don’t laugh, but my deepest desire is to be on the New York Times best sellers list. I have been putting that out into the Universe since day one so I know it’s going to happen. I also plan to sell the movie rights and be paid (well) to consult on set as the movie is being filmed. My children are going to love walking the red carpet. Selling the foreign rights and seeing my novel printed in several languages would also make me happy. Eventually I’d like to teach a writing group and get out on the motivational speaking circuit.
BPM: Are any scenes from the book borrowed from your world or your experiences?
Oh, yes. I am a mother of three children. My kids were about the age of Felicia’s when I started writing the book and a lot of her experience of feeling overwhelmed and worn out with the duties involved with caring for small children was what I felt as a young mother. I still feel it at least four times a week. She taps her way through it, I go to hot yoga, run and meditate to find my center.
BPM: What should readers DO after reading this book?
Tell all of their friends to buy a copy. I really believe it takes a village to make a best seller. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising so please, please tell a friend. Your review on goodreads.com and all of the retailer’s website would also be wonderfully helpful.
BPM: What are your career goals as a writer? Have you accomplished most of them?
Right now I really admire Attica Locke. She wrote a book called The Cutting Season that I couldn’t put down. Then one night I was watching the show Empire, and her name popped up in the credits as producer and writer. Immeditately, I had goosebumps. I’m so proud of my fellow writers when they cross over and do big things. As I sat watching, I thought, could I write for television? Mmmm, I’m just going to let that thought marinate. Hosting a show on television would also tickle my fancy.
BPM: What have you realized about yourself since becoming a published author?
I’ve realized that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Every moment in my life from going to college in New York City as Theatre arts major, to my first two jobs in publishing as a publicist, to starting my own publishing house and having to do everything possible to get the word out on Love in a Carry-on Bag has led me to this moment. I’ve worked hard, I deserve to be right here and my future is even brighter. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me.
BPM: What are you the most thankful for now?
I’m grateful for my health and the health of my family and close friends. I enjoy waking up every morning, getting my kids off to school (most times without arguments and tears but not always), putting on a pot of coffee and going to work in my robe. God is always amazingly good to me. Oh, and I have a sexy, supportive husband to boot.
BPM: Do you have any advice for people seeking to publish a book?
Don’t quit. Writing takes time and dedication and it is very important to be true to the craft. Take writing classes, form a writing group and read as much as you can. Give yourself time and permission to grow, and be patient with yourself. Believe in your creativity above all. Allow the magic to flow.
BPM: What’s next?
I’m working on my third novel, And Then There Was Me. It’s about deception and betrayal. It’s scheduled to be published by Thomas Dunne Books spring of 2017 so stay tuned. And click right over to my website, www.sadeqajohnson.net and subscribe to my blog. I’ll keep the latest news listed there. I’m on all of the social media outlets so get in touch with me. I’d really love to hear from you.
Love, Light and Laughter.
Connect with Sadeqa Johnson
http://www.sadeqajohnson.net
https://twitter.com/sadeqasays
https://instagram.com/sadeqasays
https://www.facebook.com/SadeqaJohnson
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December 20, 2016
Book Review: Gone by Elisabeth Naughton
Purchase your CopyGone by Elisabeth NaughtonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Raegan and Alec had a powerful love. As parents, they went through a huge devastation in the abduction of their child. This kind of tragedy can either pull people closer or tear them apart. Three years after they lost their daughter, Raegan and Alec are reunited because of similar case and realize their feelings haven't changed, Filled with suspense, romance, intrigue and justice, Gone kept me glued until the end. I enjoyed the flawed characters and how they were able to overcome their past. I enjoyed this book very book. It had all the elements needed for great story-telling that makes me eager to read more of Elisabeth Naughton.
About the BookThree years ago, Alec McClane and Raegan Devereaux lived every parent’s worst nightmare: their one-year-old daughter, Emma, was abducted from a park when Alec turned his back for just a moment. Emma was never found, and presumed dead. The crushing trauma, plus Alec’s unbearable guilt, ended the couple’s marriage.Now a four-year-old girl matching Emma’s profile is found wandering a local park. Alec and Raegan are heartbroken to discover she’s not their daughter but are newly motivated to find closure…and each secretly feels desperate to be in the other’s presence again.Alec suspects his vengeful biological father is behind Emma’s disappearance. But as Raegan investigates other abductions in the area, she sees a pattern—and begins to wonder if Emma’s kidnapping is actually linked to something more sinister.As Alec and Raegan race to uncover the truth, a long-burning spark rekindles into smoldering passion, and they realize they need each other now more than ever.
Release Date: January 10, 2017Purchase Your Copy
December 19, 2016
Book Review: Lady of the House by E.N. Joy
Purchase Your CopyLady of the House: Book Three of the Forever Divas Series by E.N. JoyMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I have read all of the New Day Divas series, Always Divas and the Forever Divas series. Pastor Margie has been an integral character throughout the previous novels.
In Lady of the House, we get to see Pastor Margie in a different light. We see the other side of the camera of being a preacher. Many times, we see the confidence when we seek counsel. However, now we are seeing Pastor Margie is all woman and just like the rest of us, have moments of insecurities.
I had no idea, another reader fave, Mother Doreen would be such an integral part of the read. Together, their interaction made for some entertaining scenes.
This was a very different read to end the series. It was lighter but the second half of the novel really drew me in. There was a funeral scene and the author took the time to give us the entire eulogy. I believe this will benefit someone who experiences the loss of someone who was far from perfect.
All in all, Lady of the House had some creative moments and plugs for the other novels, as a farewell salute. Some readers may not fully appreciate this end to such a dramatic series, but other writers/readers will.
Here are two of my favorite quotes:
"...choose to allow those who do believe in you, who do encourage you, and who do support you to give you the energy and motivation to succeed." Pg. 184, Lady of the House.
"Testimonies heal and save lives, so if people hold their testimonies hostage, someone could miss out on their breakthrough." Pg. 200, Lady of the House
Release date: October 25, 2016
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New Release: A Champion's Heart by Piper G. Huguley
Piper G. Huguley is a nationally recognized historical romance writer. I am so blessed to have her on my blog. Her stories capture the essence of the time period while being written from a fresh and unique perspective. Welcome Piper!
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About the Book1935. Champion Bates left poky old Winslow, Georgia when he was seventeen years old. He had promised to elope with his childhood sweetheart, but pressured by other influences, he took an earlier train leaving his Delie behind. The pain at leaving her behind has tormented him for the seven years he fought as a ham and egg boxer, trying to make himself worthy of her. He had no chance for the big time until now. He has a fight with a contender boxer--a white man. However, he has been told more fighting will possibly blind him. Back in Winslow, Cordelia “Delie” Bledsoe is out of luck. A teacher in the local school, she has the care of several children who have been abandoned by their parents. She’s offered $200 to take the children out of Georgia. She wants to take them to her family in Pittsburgh to live on a family farm, but Champion Bates shows up, insistent on helping her. She does not want to trust her old love, but has little choice. Champion wants to redeem himself with his former sweetheart and doesn’t expect much, but the hair and eyes of one of Delie’s young children tugs at his heart. In this story of sacrifice, Champ and Delie struggle to learn about love and both must grow A Champion’s Heart.
Chapter Excerpt: Only one Negro, a man, had gotten off of the bus. He faced the hotel, and the first sight that hit her eyes was his delicious looking backside. Delie fanned herself as she crossed the street. Maybe she did have an itch. His fine backside was encased in some nice new clothes, a rarity these days on a Negro man. He wore some silky-looking cuffed-off black pants with some city slicker type shoes and his shoulders, Delie could see from the middle of the dusty street where she stood, were very broad. She doubted this man could walk through any doorframe straight on. “Lord, have mercy,” she whispered. That was wrong of her. She should not have called on the Lord in vain, but when she saw those shoulders, she didn’t know what else to say. From the back of his head, covered in tight jet-black curls, she knew he was a Negro. Best to do the Christian thing and let him know what he should do to get a good meal. “Mister.” Delie approached the man. “They don’t serve our kind in there, you know? You can go to Mrs. Saunders over in Mill Town and she can feed you a good meal if you are hungry. She won’t charge much.” Delie’s ankles were never very strong, but they went and collapsed on her when the man turned around. Champion Bates faced her, with glasses on. With glasses? Since when? Her heart thudded in her chest very hard. The gray fox head on her wrap nodded up and down like it was alive and well again. Champion gripped her by her arms to prevent her from falling down. The electricity between them when he touched her was even stronger today than when he had left her behind seven years ago. How was that even possible? “Cordelia May Bledsoe.” Her head swirled at his strong, sure masculine voice. When he left Winslow, Champ’s body was thin, short, and small, like a banty rooster. Out of that slight, strong body came an impossibly deep voice…then. Now, hearing him say her name sent shivers up and down her spine. A man’s voice boomed out, not a boy’s. She held her breath as the understanding came. He had been a boy…then. And, she had been a girl. He had abandoned her because he was a child, not yet ready to take on a man’s responsibilities. Now, he was grown up. His shoulders were proof. And just what was under that jacket? Stop it, Cordelia May. Lord, have mercy. With great effort, she pulled her arms away from his searing touch. “What?” “You know I can eat at my mama’s house if I’m hungry.” “Of course. I just didn’t know…” His slow smile was the same. The smile crept across his tan features at a slow snail’s pace. “You didn’t know who I was, did you?” “I don’t identify people from behind.” Delie snapped with some of that temper Em had warned her about. Em would not begrudge her now…maybe. Especially since she wanted to die remembering how she just now thought about his backside. “Well,” Champion’s gaze up and down her gray swathed body was just as slow and appraising as his grin had been, even through the strange glasses. “If I had seen you from behind, I would have known you, Delie May.” His brown eyes took in every single part of her, from her gray fox wrap to her hips down to her slicked up Vaseline legs and scuffed gray Mary Jane heels with the razor blades she was sure was stuck inside of them.
About the Author
Piper G Huguley, named 2015 Debut Author of the Year by Romance Slam Jam and Breakout Author of the Year by AAMBC, is a two-time Golden Heart ®finalist. and is the author of “Migrations of the Heart,” a three-book series of historical romances set in the early 20th century featuring African American characters, published by Samhain Publishing. Book #1 in the series, A Virtuous Ruby, won Best Historical of 2015 in the Swirl Awards. Book #3 in the series, A Treasure of Gold, was named by Romance Novels in Color as a Best Book of 2015 and received 4 ½ stars from RT Magazine.Huguley is also the author of the “Home to Milford College” series. The series follows the building of a college from its founding in 1866. On release, the prequel novella to the “Home to Milford College” series, The Lawyer’s Luck, reached #1 Amazon Bestseller status on the African American Christian Fiction charts. Book #1 in the series, The Preacher’s Promise was named a top ten Historical Romance in Publisher’s Weekly by the esteemed historical romance author, Beverly Jenkins and received Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest Contest of Self-Published e-books in 2015.Her new series “Born to Win Men” starts with A Champion’s Heart as Book #1. A Champion’s Heart was named by Sarah MacLean of The Washington Post as a best romance novel selection for December 2016.p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 19.0px} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; color: #333333; -webkit-text-stroke: #333333} p.p4 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Calibri; color: #0069d9; -webkit-text-stroke: #0069d9} p.p5 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p6 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #333333; -webkit-text-stroke: #333333; min-height: 18.0px} p.p7 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #333333; -webkit-text-stroke: #333333} p.p8 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font-kerning: none; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #000000} span.s3 {font: 13.3px Calibri; font-kerning: none} span.s4 {font: 14.7px Calibri; text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none; color: #0069d9}
She blogs about the history behind her novels at http://piperhuguley.com. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son.
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Purchase Your CopyAbout the Book1935. Champion Bates left poky old Winslow, Georgia when he was seventeen years old. He had promised to elope with his childhood sweetheart, but pressured by other influences, he took an earlier train leaving his Delie behind. The pain at leaving her behind has tormented him for the seven years he fought as a ham and egg boxer, trying to make himself worthy of her. He had no chance for the big time until now. He has a fight with a contender boxer--a white man. However, he has been told more fighting will possibly blind him. Back in Winslow, Cordelia “Delie” Bledsoe is out of luck. A teacher in the local school, she has the care of several children who have been abandoned by their parents. She’s offered $200 to take the children out of Georgia. She wants to take them to her family in Pittsburgh to live on a family farm, but Champion Bates shows up, insistent on helping her. She does not want to trust her old love, but has little choice. Champion wants to redeem himself with his former sweetheart and doesn’t expect much, but the hair and eyes of one of Delie’s young children tugs at his heart. In this story of sacrifice, Champ and Delie struggle to learn about love and both must grow A Champion’s Heart.
Chapter Excerpt: Only one Negro, a man, had gotten off of the bus. He faced the hotel, and the first sight that hit her eyes was his delicious looking backside. Delie fanned herself as she crossed the street. Maybe she did have an itch. His fine backside was encased in some nice new clothes, a rarity these days on a Negro man. He wore some silky-looking cuffed-off black pants with some city slicker type shoes and his shoulders, Delie could see from the middle of the dusty street where she stood, were very broad. She doubted this man could walk through any doorframe straight on. “Lord, have mercy,” she whispered. That was wrong of her. She should not have called on the Lord in vain, but when she saw those shoulders, she didn’t know what else to say. From the back of his head, covered in tight jet-black curls, she knew he was a Negro. Best to do the Christian thing and let him know what he should do to get a good meal. “Mister.” Delie approached the man. “They don’t serve our kind in there, you know? You can go to Mrs. Saunders over in Mill Town and she can feed you a good meal if you are hungry. She won’t charge much.” Delie’s ankles were never very strong, but they went and collapsed on her when the man turned around. Champion Bates faced her, with glasses on. With glasses? Since when? Her heart thudded in her chest very hard. The gray fox head on her wrap nodded up and down like it was alive and well again. Champion gripped her by her arms to prevent her from falling down. The electricity between them when he touched her was even stronger today than when he had left her behind seven years ago. How was that even possible? “Cordelia May Bledsoe.” Her head swirled at his strong, sure masculine voice. When he left Winslow, Champ’s body was thin, short, and small, like a banty rooster. Out of that slight, strong body came an impossibly deep voice…then. Now, hearing him say her name sent shivers up and down her spine. A man’s voice boomed out, not a boy’s. She held her breath as the understanding came. He had been a boy…then. And, she had been a girl. He had abandoned her because he was a child, not yet ready to take on a man’s responsibilities. Now, he was grown up. His shoulders were proof. And just what was under that jacket? Stop it, Cordelia May. Lord, have mercy. With great effort, she pulled her arms away from his searing touch. “What?” “You know I can eat at my mama’s house if I’m hungry.” “Of course. I just didn’t know…” His slow smile was the same. The smile crept across his tan features at a slow snail’s pace. “You didn’t know who I was, did you?” “I don’t identify people from behind.” Delie snapped with some of that temper Em had warned her about. Em would not begrudge her now…maybe. Especially since she wanted to die remembering how she just now thought about his backside. “Well,” Champion’s gaze up and down her gray swathed body was just as slow and appraising as his grin had been, even through the strange glasses. “If I had seen you from behind, I would have known you, Delie May.” His brown eyes took in every single part of her, from her gray fox wrap to her hips down to her slicked up Vaseline legs and scuffed gray Mary Jane heels with the razor blades she was sure was stuck inside of them.
About the Author
Piper G Huguley, named 2015 Debut Author of the Year by Romance Slam Jam and Breakout Author of the Year by AAMBC, is a two-time Golden Heart ®finalist. and is the author of “Migrations of the Heart,” a three-book series of historical romances set in the early 20th century featuring African American characters, published by Samhain Publishing. Book #1 in the series, A Virtuous Ruby, won Best Historical of 2015 in the Swirl Awards. Book #3 in the series, A Treasure of Gold, was named by Romance Novels in Color as a Best Book of 2015 and received 4 ½ stars from RT Magazine.Huguley is also the author of the “Home to Milford College” series. The series follows the building of a college from its founding in 1866. On release, the prequel novella to the “Home to Milford College” series, The Lawyer’s Luck, reached #1 Amazon Bestseller status on the African American Christian Fiction charts. Book #1 in the series, The Preacher’s Promise was named a top ten Historical Romance in Publisher’s Weekly by the esteemed historical romance author, Beverly Jenkins and received Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest Contest of Self-Published e-books in 2015.Her new series “Born to Win Men” starts with A Champion’s Heart as Book #1. A Champion’s Heart was named by Sarah MacLean of The Washington Post as a best romance novel selection for December 2016.p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000; min-height: 19.0px} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Arial; color: #333333; -webkit-text-stroke: #333333} p.p4 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Calibri; color: #0069d9; -webkit-text-stroke: #0069d9} p.p5 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} p.p6 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #333333; -webkit-text-stroke: #333333; min-height: 18.0px} p.p7 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px 'Times New Roman'; color: #333333; -webkit-text-stroke: #333333} p.p8 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.7px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} span.s2 {font-kerning: none; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: 0px #000000} span.s3 {font: 13.3px Calibri; font-kerning: none} span.s4 {font: 14.7px Calibri; text-decoration: underline ; font-kerning: none; color: #0069d9}
She blogs about the history behind her novels at http://piperhuguley.com. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son.
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December 18, 2016
Welcome Pamela Samuels Young of the Seducing the Pen Tour
New Crime Thriller: Lawful DeceptionListen to Pamela read from Lawful Deception: http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C2BvMP1x/
The beautiful Bliss Fenton won't be winning any awards for Mother of the Year. Truth is, motherhood isn't nearly as important to Bliss as the cottage industry she's created: extorting wealthy men solely for the hefty child support she can collect. But Bliss' greed ultimately goes too far when she takes on Fletcher McClain. The handsome record industry mogul insists there's no way he's the father of Bliss' third child. But when the results of the paternity test are finally revealed, a stunned McClain refuses to take them lying down. He hires accomplished L.A. attorney Vernetta Henderson to sue Bliss for fraud.
When an unscrupulous attorney from Vernetta’s past reappears to represent Bliss, Vernetta's faithful sidekick Special steps in to join the fight. While Special is hard at work digging up dirt on Bliss, she’s distracted by an investigation of a more personal nature, one that ends up challenging her prejudices as well as her heart.
As Vernetta goes head to head against her corrupt opponent, the stakes get higher and higher and in a flash, the lawsuit goes from contentious to outright deadly.
Purchase your copy today: http://amzn.com/B015TBKI3S
Excerpt: Lawful Deception"Pamela Samuels Young has crafted a page-turner that will keep you engrossed until the very last page. If you're a fan of smart legal thrillers with brisk pacing, crackling dialogue and edgy, intriguing characters, Lawful Deception is for you."
--Dwayne Alexander Smith, Award-winning Author of Forty Acres
Prologue
Bliss Fenton took a sip of champagne as she glared across the room at the obnoxiously happy couple. They indeed made a striking pair. Their slim, toned bodies draped in designer wear and expensive jewelry. So trendy. So California chic. Setting her champagne glass on the tray of a passing waiter, Bliss snaked her way through the crowd, hoping to get a better view. As she moved, her blonde curls bounced as if lifted by a cool breeze. At 5'8" and 120 pounds, her delicate frame was all slopes and curves. A body specifically designed for exhibition.
The partygoers were packed like human matchsticks inside the gaudy Hollywood Hills mansion. The home, if you could call it that, was a testament to excess. Just like the couple. Too much of everything. Too many art deco chairs, too much bronze and glass, and so much artwork the walls could barely breathe.
Only a few feet away from the couple now, Bliss found herself shoulder-to-shoulder with a too-tanned man with greasy hair. He winked at her. She sneered back at him and moved on. A devious smile fractured Bliss' face as she returned her attention to the couple. She imagined the angst they would experience the minute they spotted her among the partygoers. Fletcher's lips would contort into an ugly grimace, but then coolly transition to a barely perceptible smirk. He was not the kind of man who was easily rankled. That was the reason he was a millionaire several times over.
Mia, however, would not be able to hide her emotions. Fletcher's prissy little black princess would toss Bliss a snarl that bellowed, What the hell are you doing here? It was Mia she wanted to punish most. Bliss had pleaded with God to curse her former friend with a pain ten times more intense than her own. She wanted Mia to live it. Breathe it. Curl up in bed with it. Just as she had. Bliss refused to blame Fletcher for the poor choices he'd made. He was a man. And men, by nature, were weak. Still, he too would pay just the same. The call of vengeance tugged hard at Bliss' soul, urging her, daring her, to march right up to the couple and confront them. But she held back. For the moment. Patience had always been her most virtuous trait.
Fletcher hustled to the front of the room and began singing the praises of the newest songstress to be added to his stable of artists, LaReena Jarreau. Bliss remembered cuddling in bed with Fletcher and listening to him brag about creating her stage name, since Janice Harris had no pizzazz.
"The first time I heard her voice," Fletcher said, throwing his arm around the bony twenty-something dressed in hooker gear, "I knew she was going to hit the music world by storm. You have to agree that what we heard tonight was-as the youngsters say-off the chain."
Everyone applauded as the hip, dark-haired CEO of Karma Entertainment grinned, happy to be on show. The only thing Fletcher enjoyed more than being rich was having everyone know it.
Mia remained off to the side, perfecting the look of the coy, supportive fiancée. That had been Bliss' mistake. Accepting her at face value. While Mia's visual package was quite alluring-all charm and beauty-on the inside, she was pure evil. Truth be told, Mia wasn't all that different from her. Bliss Fenton, not Mia Richardson, should have been on the arm of the music industry mogul tonight. It had never occurred to Bliss that her long-time yoga buddy could walk into a party and take her new guy's breath away. Literally.
At the time, Bliss had been dating Fletcher for a short six months. She'd invited Mia to the party at Fletcher's Beverly Hills home for the sole purpose of showing off her new man to her smart, uppity faux-friend. Bliss could still remember Mia waving as she glided into the party, the crowd parting so effortlessly it almost seemed choreographed.
Seconds before, Fletcher had been talking nonstop about his label's next release, but the sight of Mia had caused him to lose his train of thought. When Bliss had formally introduced them, the lust in Fletcher's eyes further telegraphed the gravity of her mistake.
Only days after the party, Bliss' time with Fletcher began to dwindle, explained away by late night meetings that couldn't be avoided or last-minute business trips to New York. Mia, too, had started cancelling their after-yoga coffee chats and finally stopped coming to yoga class altogether.
It was a month later, when Bliss saw Fletcher and Mia pictured together in Billboard, that she first learned of their betrayal. Her subsequent rage-filled calls to both of them had been ignored. And now, Mia was at Fletcher's side, while Bliss had been pushed right out of his life.
A burst of applause snapped Bliss back to the present. As Fletcher seemed to be wrapping up his speech, Bliss moved closer, stopping inches behind Mia. She leaned in, her lips almost grazing Mia's right ear.
"Congratulations on your engagement."
Mia's head whipped around, her dark brown skin now ashen gray. "You ... you shouldn't be here."
Bliss spoke in a firm whisper. "Neither should you. You backstabbing b^itch."
Mia took a step back. "This is not the place to make a scene."
"Okay, then," Bliss said, moving into the space Mia had abandoned. "Shall we step outside?"
A second later, Fletcher wedged himself between them. "You walk yourself out of here right now," he said through clenched teeth, "or I'll have security carry you out."
Although no voices had been raised, all heads turned in their direction. Mia didn't move.
Fletcher, always cognizant of appearances, wore a stiff smile as he spat into Bliss' face. "If you don't leave, I swear I'll have you arrested."
After three long beats, Bliss winked. "You'll both be hearing from me."
Bliss couldn't help smiling as she sashayed through the buzzing crowd.
Fletcher and Mia would suffer for their disloyalty. Bliss only wished she could be there to see their stunned faces when they learned what she had done and realized there was absolutely nothing they could do about it.
( Continued... )
© 2015 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Pamela Samuels Young. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only. Meet the Author
When attorney Pamela Samuels Young, a NAACP Image Award winner, isn't fulfilling her duties as legal counsel for a major corporation in Southern California, you can usually find her penning her next legal thriller.Her acclaimed novel, Anybody's Daughter, is what garnered Pamela her first NAACP Image Award win in the category of Outstanding Literary Work (Fiction).
Fed up with never seeing people of color, especially women, depicted as savvy, hot-shot attorneys in the legal thrillers she read, the Compton, CA, native decided to create her own. Despite the demands of a busy legal career, Pamela accomplished her ambitious goal by getting up at 4am to write before work, dedicated her weekends to writing and even spent a large portion of her vacations glued to her laptop. In doing so, she discovered her passion for writing.
A graduate of UC Berkeley's School of Law, Pamela has a bachelor's degree in journalism from USC and a Master's Degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is a diehard member of Sisters in Crime-L.A., an organization dedicated to the advancement of women mystery writers.
She lives in Southern California and attends Hope in Christ Community Church. Visit her website to see the more than 380 bookclubs she has visited and to follow her online:
Pamela is also a frequent speaker on the topics of writing fiction, discrimination law and pursuing your passion. Pamela loves to hear from readers, so use one of the avenues listed below to reach out to her.
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A Reason to Sing - Prologue, Chapters 1 & 2
Beauty meets the Beast and a Bucket full of Betrayal. "Song of the Heart" Series Book 3
© 2017 All rights reserved. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author, Michelle Lindo-Rice's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only. Please note, this is an UNEDITED peek at the author's work.
Order your Copy Prologue
Her husband hung two feet off the floor from the ceiling fan in their bedroom closet. The white laundry basket filled with baby clothes, fell from Megan Higgins’ hands onto the lush green carpet. “Jackson.”Megan screamed as Jackson Higgins’ lifeless body swayed. “No! No! You can’t do this.”She grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle and called 911. “Come quick. Help me. I need an ambulance.” She sniffled. “My husband’s… My husband’s h-h-hanging in my c-c-closet.” Her voice broke. Megan rattled off her address and cut the call. Megan tossed the phone to the floor and moved her five-foot frame as fast as she could into the closet space. She grabbed her husband’s legs, pulling them up to rest on her shoulders. “Jackson!” She looked up in a face purple from asphyxiation. “Jackson,” she yelled again, although, he seemed lifeless. How long had he been in here?Her heart pumped. Megan huffed under her husband’s weight. She needed a chair. She raced from the room trampling over the once folded onesies and jumpers. She pushed the chair under Jackson’s feet. “Jackson!” Megan dropped to her knees. “You can’t leave me like this. We have a son. Cooper needs you.” She looked around the room hoping to see something she could use to cut him loose. She needed a knife. Megan race down into the kitchen and back up the stairs, huffing from the speed.She slid on one of the socks and stumbled to the floor. She landed hard on her butt. Megan drew a breath and thanked God for quick reflexes. A couple of inches to the right and she would have been pierced by the butcher knife. Megan jumped to her feet and headed to where Jackson was slumped over. Megan sliced the cord with the sharp blade. She braced herself to cushion Jackson’s fall. His five-ten, two-hundred-thirty-pound body almost toppled her off the chair. Megan took deep breaths and stepped off the chair. Her body shook under his weight. Then her right ankle twisted. Megan fell and Jackson landed on top of her. Holding back a scream, Megan rolled him off her. She squatted next to him and pummeled his chest. “Jackson! Jackson!”The doorbell pealed.Megan brushed her hair out of her face and scampered downstairs to open the door.“Mrs. Higgins?” “He’s upstairs,” she said by way of greeting to the two Caucasian EMT workers. Megan took off knowing the men would follow her.She led them into her bedroom. “Stay here,” one of the men said before beginning CPR.“I found him hanging,” Megan said. Her shoulders slumped and her breathing escalated. She clutched her chest. “I don’t feel good.”The other EMT rushed to her. He took Megan’s arm. “Breathe. Breathe. You’re having a panic attack, Mrs. Higgins.”Megan allowed him to lead her to the bed. She looked over at Jackson and lowered her head. . Her life as she knew it was about to change. It would never be the same and she had no one but herself to blame.
Ch. 1
“I said no to seven million dollars. I said noto seven million dollars.” Megan leaned against her front door and breathed out the words. She clutched her stomach. “Oh, Lord, I said no to seven million dollars.” The temptation to open the door and run after Ryan Oakes was strong. The multimillionaire had presented her with the certified check but she had refused to take the blood money. Not when her husband had warned her he would come. Ryan Oakes was not a philanthropist. He was trying to appease his conscience. Megan’s body shook. “Jackson, why did you leave me?” she whispered. Had she not listened enough? Had she not been a supportive wife? The guilt thoughts plagued her being though she wasn't the one to blame.
Her nails scraped the cherry wood door as she crumbled to the parquet wooden floor. Megan buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Her shoulder length hair cascaded about her. She needed money. She had been sick to the point of death with a rare strain of pneumonia. Her hospital bills were astronomical. Megan would have died if it had not been for the prayers of the saints at A Better Life Center. Their prayers moved the hand of God.Six months ago, everything was different. She had a healthy twelve-month-old, Cooper, and a husband who adored her. But, then she had gotten sick and Jackson Higgins had committed suicide. Or so they say. Megan knew differently. Ryan Oakes was a murderer. If only she could prove it.Her lips curled as she thought of Ryan’s preposterous comment only moments before.“Marry me.”It was not the words, but the way they were said. If she didn’t know better, Megan would have believed Ryan meant them. As if she would ever give him a chance. Money, good looks or charm did not turn her head. Fit and tall with beautiful brown eyes and a wide smile, Ryan looked like a man in his thirties but she knew he was forty-five years old from television interviews.Megan’s head snapped up at the sound of a whimper. She wiped her tears and stood. She straggled down the hallway into her son’s room. Cooper tossed and turned. His gargling bothered her. Ever since Jackson’s death, Cooper had not slept well. Megan patted Cooper on the back until he settled. “Hush little baby, don’t say a word,” she sang before her voice broke. Megan blew air at her bangs. The doorbell chimed.Megan flailed her arms. “That man is so persistent. I’m going to tell him where he can shove that check.” She marched to the door and swung it open. Her eyes widened. “Mr. Manchester?”Jackson’s attorney, Kyle Manchester flashed his five-hundred-an-hour smile. He reminded her of a snake, but Jackson had insisted Kyle was the best.Megan gritted her teeth. “This is not a good time,” she said, and moved to close the door.Kyle stuck his foot in the groove. “Mrs. Higgins, you haven’t returned my calls. It’s urgent that I speak with you.”She pushed against the door. “I don’t have any money. I’ve settled most of my bills and I have a small trust for Cooper but other than that, I’m broke.”Kyle shook his head. “Will you at least let me in?”Megan stepped aside. She resisted the urge to rub the goose bumps popping up on her arms. Kyle made her feel unsettled. He strutted into her living room and sunk into the plush fabric of her couch. Then he plopped his briefcase next to him as if he owned the place. “What do you want? When you took Jackson’s case, your payment was contingent upon a win. It’s not my fault Jackson passed before you got your big paycheck.”“Don’t you mean killed?” He challenged.Megan gulped. Kyle continued. “I’d like to continue the lawsuit proceedings. You’re sick with a young child to care for and no income.”Megan folded her arms. “I have a master’s degree in music. I was a music teacher for ten years. And, I’m not sick anymore, thanks to the healing power of God.”“You were a music teacher four years ago,” Kyle said. “And, I heard all about your healing, but we don’t have to mention that.”She lifted her chin. “I’m not going to deny what God did for me. Ever. My answer is no.”Kyle lifted a brow. He opened the file folder and extracted a piece of paper. “I think you need to read the contract.”Megan narrowed her eyes and took the document. Kyle had a sly look on his face. She scanned the contents before her mouth dropped open. “Why would Jackson agree to pay you even if you didn’t win?”“Because my time is valuable, Mrs. Higgins. Jackson wanted the best and I am that and more. In his defense, Jackson knew we had an airtight case.” Kyle’s greasy smile made Megan back up.“But, I don’t have three-hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars,” Megan said. “You can’t hold me responsible for Jackson’s stupidity.”Kyle stood. “I can and I will.”Megan did not doubt Kyle meant his words. “I wish I hadn’t turned down Ryan’s offer,” she thought aloud.Kyle lifted a brow. “What offer?”Megan swung around and walked toward the front door. She needed Kyle Manchester out of her home. Kyle gripped her arm. He applied enough pressure until she had to face him.She shrugged out of his hold and rubbed her arm. “Ryan offered me a large sum.” Megan bit her bottom lip. Why was she telling Kyle this? Something about him made her want to tell her business. Kyle’s harsh face softened. His eyes salivated. She could almost see the dollar signs. “You should take it. You’ll have enough to pay me and care for Cooper.”Megan shook her head. “I have no intentions of taking Ryan’s blood money. He killed my husband.” Her tongue loosened. “Did you know he had the nerve to ask me to marry him?”Kyle threw back his head and laughed. “I can’t believe my good fortune.”Megan tilted her head. “What good fortune?”He touched her face. “You’re certainly a precious gem.” His voice dropped. “I understand why Ryan’s smitten with you.” His eyes slaked her snug jeans and fitted purple shirt. “I admit I’m captivated. When I first saw you, I wondered how an ape like Jackson landed a woman like you.”Megan drew a breath. “Jackson was not an ape. He was kind and considerate and—”“Not the man I can be for you,” Kyle said. He reached for a tendril of her hair and tugged it hard. “Consider the debt paid if you marry me instead. I wouldn’t mind getting one up on Ryan.”“I’m not a pawn and I find you insulting.” Megan shoved him away from her. She sped to the door and opened it. “Get out.”Kyle cackled. “I’m only messing with you.” In an instant, his demeanor changed and he was all business. “I’ll file a civil suit if I don’t receive my money. I strongly suggest you take Ryan’s check or accept his marriage proposal.”Megan glared. “I’ve been taking care of myself for thirty-eight years, Mr. Manchester. I don’t need you telling me what to do.”“You’re not thinking, my dear.” Kyle moved into her space. “You can help Jackson. Marry Ryan. Get him to love you. Get him to open up to you. You read the Bible. You know the story of Delilah and how she seduced Samson. Be Ryan’s Delilah and bring him to his knees. Use your beauty, and your—” He scanned Megan’s generous frame. “Assets. Make Ryan confess to killing Jackson. What a way to honor your husband.”Kyle’s suggestion tempted her. His words wrapped around her mind. Megan felt compelled to obey his command.“You have such a way with words,” Megan whispered. “It’s mesmerizing.”“So I’ve been told.” Kyle’s bright eyes drew her in. He was stocky and his looks were nothing to brag about, but all of a sudden Kyle was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His beauty tantalized her. She took a step toward him but Megan saw a shadow. She shivered. “There’s a dark cloud around you,” Megan said. “I can see it.”“I’ve heard that, too.” Kyle countered, not the least bit put off by her words. He leaned close. “I think you can handle me though.”Megan snapped out of her trance. She pointed to the door. “Leave my home.”Kyle reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a business card. “I won’t stay where I’m not wanted. But, I’ll give you my personal number. You can reach me anytime.”She held the card against her chest. Kyle sauntered through the door. Just before he got in his vehicle, he said, “Call Ryan. You have a young son and you need the help. You never know what can happen. One day Cooper could be fine and the next he could be … Well, you know.”Megan rushed out the door. Her short legs could not compete with the power of his Audi. He whipped around the bend before she reached the curb. Megan slowed. “Jackson, what have you done?” she whispered. Megan scurried into her home and secured the locks behind her. Immediately, she praised God and dispelled any darkness because of Kyle’s visit. She went into Cooper’s room and prayed over him. Cooper stirred.Eyes like Jackson’s observed her before Cooper let out a strong wail. Megan smiled and scooped him into her arms. With practiced skill, she changed him and strolled into the kitchen to make him a bottle. She seated Cooper in the booster chair. She had given up the high chair when he kept comingCooper hollered and banged his fist on the table. His legs pumped back and forth. Megan smiled.“I’m coming. I’m coming.” Megan hummed as she took out the containers of mash potatoes and peas she prepared the evening before. She warmed them and tested the temperature. With a nod, she grabbed a spoon and slid a chair next to her son.Then she bowed her head and blessed his meal.“Amen! Eat!” Cooper said.“Open up,” Megan said. She plopped a dollop of mash potatoes into Cooper’s mouth. She smiled at the joy on his face. If only her problem could be solved with a scoop of potatoes. Once Cooper finished his meal, Megan cleaned him up and tidied the kitchen. Holding him on one hip, she headed to the basement. Cooper tugged on her hair and giggled with glee. Megan extracted her hair from his fist before setting him down to play. Jackson had designed a play area with everything that would entice a little boy. It also helped to keep the rest of the house clean.Cooper waddled over to the mega blocks. Megan cringed at the crash that followed. Blocks were everywhere. Cooper stacked them and some found their way into his mouth. Megan kept wipes handy so she was not concerned. She laughed at her son’s antics and sat in her seat in the sectional. Megan looked at the empty seat next to her. If Jackson were here, he would be fighting with her for the remote so he could watch a sports game. She would tell him to put it on a cartoon channel. There was no one to fight with her now.She reached for the remote and turned on the 65-inch television. She channel surfed before shutting it off. She joined Cooper on the rug.“Sing, Mommy.” Cooper clanged the blocks together.Megan looked in the corner of the room. Her blue guitar, a thirty-sixth birthday gift from Jackson, rested in the corner. “Sing, Mommy!” Cooper said.“Mommy will sing later,” she said. Tears streamed down her face. Megan turned away from Cooper to dry her tears. Besides Cooper she had no one. No family to lean on. She had lost touch with most of her teacher friends.“Want Daddy,” Cooper said.Megan broke. She cuddled Cooper in her arms and allowed the tears to fall. “I want Daddy, too, Cooper. I want him, too but Daddy’s gone.” Pain sliced through her. It was all Ryan’s fault. Kyle was right. Ryan needed to pay. Seven million dollars would not be enough. No, Megan decided. She needed his heart. So she could crush it. Destroy him. Vengeance is mine. Megan heard God’s voice and slumped. She could not break someone’s heart on purpose. But she could get evidence to convict Ryan. She smiled. Yes, she could do that. She pulled Ryan’s card out of her pocket and stared at the number. She bit her lower lip. Could she ask out the devil?She could and she would if it meant finding out how her husband ended up hanging in a bedroom closet. Megan reached for her cell phone.
Ch. 2
I killed someone.Well, I didn’t with my own hands, but I orchestrated it. Well, not orchestrated, but I’m responsible. I had needed someone taken care of. And he was. But, now I have to live with myself.Taken care of. Jackson Higgins had been taken care of. Ryan would never view the words the same again. He faced himself in the rearview mirror. His cell vibrated and Ryan shook the macabre thoughts out of his mind. He swiped to accept the call. “Did you get my text?” he asked, without even a hello.“Yes. I’m on it,” the gruff voice said.“I need to know her every move,” Ryan Oakes said. “If Megan sneezes, I want to know about it.” Ryan disconnected his cell and rushed into Margaux, the restaurant in the Marlton Hotel where his daughter, Karlie Knightly lived. Karlie and her fiancé, Brian Oakes, were seated. He saw they had already ordered appetizers. Karlie had thought about moving into her mother’s home in Hempstead, Long Island, but changed her mind when she got engaged. She and Brian were house hunting. Ryan hoped they would choose a home in Garden City, where he resided.Ryan greeted his daughter with a kiss on the cheek. He went to hug Brian but the young man shifted out of his reach. Ryan scrunched his nose. What was that about? Brian had recently been in a car accident where he had almost lost his life. Ryan and Brian had made peace, so he didn’t understand the cold shoulder. Ryan took his seat and said, “You can hug me. You were my son for twenty-three years of your life. As far as I’m concerned, you always will be.”“Forgive me if I can’t get used to the fact that my former father will be my father-in-law.” Brian shook his head. “I mean who keeps their daughter a secret?”Again, this had been settled or so he thought. Ryan tapped the bridge of his nose. Six years ago, He had taken a paternity test, which proved Karlie Knightly was his daughter. She was the product of a one-night-stand with Tiffany Knightly. Tiffany had been a chart-topper singer before she succumbed to lung cancer.“Brian, I’ve forgiven Ryan so we need to move forward. That’s what God would want us to do.” Karlie swirled a celery stick into ranch dip.Brian rolled his eyes before reaching for one of the soft rolls on the table. Ryan gave the younger man a smile. Then he asked, “How is the album going?”“I’m putting it off until after the wedding,” she said. “We just wrapped up filming the first few episodes of… The network wants to pay for everything.”Ryan lifted a chin. “You don’t need the network. You have me. I’m honored to help.”Karlie slid her gaze from his. “I’m fine, I uh—”“Neil is helping with the wedding,” Brian said. Ryan could see the satisfaction on his face. He challenged him with a stare-down. “I insist. I know Neil won’t mind if we go half.”“I do have money of my own…” Karlie said.Ryan shook his head and took her hand in his. “No. It’s every father’s dream to walk his daughter down the aisle.”Karlie pulled out of his grasp. Brian opened his mouth but she held up a hand. She faced Ryan. He didn’t like the uneasy look she gave him.“I asked Neil,” she whispered. Her eyes pleaded for him to understand.“I think it’s presumptuous of you to expect that honor,” Brian said. “You falsified documents citing your paternity. Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgotten.”Ryan swallowed his disappointment. “You’re right. I had no right to ask.”Karlie reached for his hand. “I’m glad you did. Maybe you both can. I’ll talk to Neil.”Ryan forced a smile. Now that he had his daughter, he didn’t want to share that moment with Neil. Neil had only been in her life since she was sixteen. “I don’t think that will work,” Brian said. He gave Ryan a pointed look. “Mom is bringing a date. What about you?”Megan’s face flashed before him. “I’ll be bringing my wife,” Ryan said.Karlie’s eyes were wide. “You’re married?”Brian snickered. Ryan squared his shoulders. “I’m not as yet. But I will be in a couple weeks. Maybe a month, max. We’re planning a small, intimate affair. This is our second go-round at this so we’re not looking to do anything fancy. We might book the Ritz Carlton.” He just had to convince his bride.“You don’t call that fancy? I think it’s pompous and ostentatious.” Brian jeered.Ryan pulled on his tie. He knew Brian sought to get him riled but Ryan had just met his second wife. Nothing was going to spoil that moment. Not even the sulking man before him. “When are you going to get over it? Patti deceived me. I treated you like you were mine.”Karlie interrupted their standoff. “I had no idea you were dating.”Ryan shrugged. “You’ve been busy. That’s why I’m glad we have this moment to catch up.” His stomach growled. “It’s started already,” Brian said. “He’s going to get all caught up with this mystery woman and forget about you.”Ryan snapped. “I’m here.” “You ignored me for most of my life,” Brian spat. His chest heaved.Ryan relaxed. “I did and I’m sorry.” He looked at Karlie. “I’m a changed man. Better.”She nodded. “I believe you.” She swatted Brian on the shoulder. “Back off,” she warned.“I won’t back off. This man is an imposter and a murderer.”Karlie gasped. “How can you say that about the man who raised you?”“Because it’s true,” he said. “I can’t prove it but I know your father is shady.”Karlie leaned into Ryan as if to shield him from Brian’s attack. Ryan took a tendril of her hair in his hand and rubbed her cheek. “It’s okay,” he said. “I won’t dignify that comment with a response.” Brian stood. “I’m going to get some air.” He looked at Karlie. “I know I said I’d try but this is too much. He killed that man. I can’t prove it but I know it and it...” His voice broke.Brian stormed off. Ryan eyed him. His heart ached. How did Brian know? He shifted. Did Karlie believe him?Karlie’s eyes filled. “I love you both.” She shook her head. “Maybe I’m being naïve for wanting it all. You, Neil, Brian…” “And you will have it all,” Ryan said. She touched her chest. “I’m sorry Brian is coming at you like you’re a ruthless monster. I hate that he doubts what God did for you.”Ryan shifted. He and God were often at odds. God seemed to have a wealth of patience, while Ryan was too wealthy to be patient. He got tired of praying for something to get fixed when he could pay to get it done himself. Karlie jabbed him in the arm. “This is where you’re supposed to agree with me.”“I do. You’d have to be made of steel to resist Pastor Ward’s messages.” What he said was true for ninety-nine percent of the people. He was that one-percent where the word seemed to bounce off his heart.She laughed. “I agree.” Karlie launched into a retelling of the pastor’s last message.Ryan had been a faithful member of Zion’s Hill under Pastor Keith Ward. But a faithful member didn’t equal a faithful follower. Ryan yearned for the word to penetrate his soul but his heart was like titanium. He thought he was unreachable until Megan had turned him into a bumbling fool. He scrunched his nose. Maybe she was the key to his redemption. His do-over. She had a son. Her son needed a man in his life.Why couldn’t it be him?He straightened. It would be him.He knew what he had to do. Ryan kissed Karlie on the cheek, interrupting her mid-sentence. “I’ve got to run.”She nodded. “I know you’re a busy man. I’m glad you made the time.”He tapped her nose. “Always for you.”She grabbed his arm. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”Ryan lifted a brow. “I’m inviting Merle.”Ryan bunched a fist. “She killed Karlie. That woman is a viper. You need to stay away from her.”“She’s my blood. Just like you are.” Karlie’s leveled gaze challenged him.“Fine,” he found himself saying. But he knew it was to appease his daughter. “I don’t want any trouble,” she said. “I’m warning both you and Brian.”“I can’t imagine Neil being okay with this.” Her shoulders dropped. “He’s not. The house shook from his bellowing but it’s time we moved on and put the ugly past behind us. I feel it’s what my mother would have wanted.”Ryan clenched his jaw and gave a terse nod before leaving. Tiffany would have wanted peace but she wouldn’t have allowed Merle to use or abuse her. Merle milked Karlie like she was a cash cow. It was only because Ryan knew Karlie had a great manager why he didn’t intervene. Winona Franks tended Karlie’s finances with the care a botanist gave to plants. Her net worth flourished by the day. His cell buzzed. He knew his eyes were wide when he saw the name on the caller ID. “I’ve got to take this,” he said, and with a wave rushed out the door. He bumped into Brian on his way out but the other man didn’t acknowledge him.Normally, Ryan would have ended the call and confront him, but he was too excited by the caller on the line. If he had his way, this phone call would be the beginning of many more.
Order Your Copy - Coming on or before March 19, 2017.
© 2017 All rights reserved. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author, Michelle Lindo-Rice's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only. Please note, this is an UNEDITED peek at the author's work.
Order your Copy PrologueHer husband hung two feet off the floor from the ceiling fan in their bedroom closet. The white laundry basket filled with baby clothes, fell from Megan Higgins’ hands onto the lush green carpet. “Jackson.”Megan screamed as Jackson Higgins’ lifeless body swayed. “No! No! You can’t do this.”She grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle and called 911. “Come quick. Help me. I need an ambulance.” She sniffled. “My husband’s… My husband’s h-h-hanging in my c-c-closet.” Her voice broke. Megan rattled off her address and cut the call. Megan tossed the phone to the floor and moved her five-foot frame as fast as she could into the closet space. She grabbed her husband’s legs, pulling them up to rest on her shoulders. “Jackson!” She looked up in a face purple from asphyxiation. “Jackson,” she yelled again, although, he seemed lifeless. How long had he been in here?Her heart pumped. Megan huffed under her husband’s weight. She needed a chair. She raced from the room trampling over the once folded onesies and jumpers. She pushed the chair under Jackson’s feet. “Jackson!” Megan dropped to her knees. “You can’t leave me like this. We have a son. Cooper needs you.” She looked around the room hoping to see something she could use to cut him loose. She needed a knife. Megan race down into the kitchen and back up the stairs, huffing from the speed.She slid on one of the socks and stumbled to the floor. She landed hard on her butt. Megan drew a breath and thanked God for quick reflexes. A couple of inches to the right and she would have been pierced by the butcher knife. Megan jumped to her feet and headed to where Jackson was slumped over. Megan sliced the cord with the sharp blade. She braced herself to cushion Jackson’s fall. His five-ten, two-hundred-thirty-pound body almost toppled her off the chair. Megan took deep breaths and stepped off the chair. Her body shook under his weight. Then her right ankle twisted. Megan fell and Jackson landed on top of her. Holding back a scream, Megan rolled him off her. She squatted next to him and pummeled his chest. “Jackson! Jackson!”The doorbell pealed.Megan brushed her hair out of her face and scampered downstairs to open the door.“Mrs. Higgins?” “He’s upstairs,” she said by way of greeting to the two Caucasian EMT workers. Megan took off knowing the men would follow her.She led them into her bedroom. “Stay here,” one of the men said before beginning CPR.“I found him hanging,” Megan said. Her shoulders slumped and her breathing escalated. She clutched her chest. “I don’t feel good.”The other EMT rushed to her. He took Megan’s arm. “Breathe. Breathe. You’re having a panic attack, Mrs. Higgins.”Megan allowed him to lead her to the bed. She looked over at Jackson and lowered her head. . Her life as she knew it was about to change. It would never be the same and she had no one but herself to blame.
Ch. 1
“I said no to seven million dollars. I said noto seven million dollars.” Megan leaned against her front door and breathed out the words. She clutched her stomach. “Oh, Lord, I said no to seven million dollars.” The temptation to open the door and run after Ryan Oakes was strong. The multimillionaire had presented her with the certified check but she had refused to take the blood money. Not when her husband had warned her he would come. Ryan Oakes was not a philanthropist. He was trying to appease his conscience. Megan’s body shook. “Jackson, why did you leave me?” she whispered. Had she not listened enough? Had she not been a supportive wife? The guilt thoughts plagued her being though she wasn't the one to blame.
Her nails scraped the cherry wood door as she crumbled to the parquet wooden floor. Megan buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Her shoulder length hair cascaded about her. She needed money. She had been sick to the point of death with a rare strain of pneumonia. Her hospital bills were astronomical. Megan would have died if it had not been for the prayers of the saints at A Better Life Center. Their prayers moved the hand of God.Six months ago, everything was different. She had a healthy twelve-month-old, Cooper, and a husband who adored her. But, then she had gotten sick and Jackson Higgins had committed suicide. Or so they say. Megan knew differently. Ryan Oakes was a murderer. If only she could prove it.Her lips curled as she thought of Ryan’s preposterous comment only moments before.“Marry me.”It was not the words, but the way they were said. If she didn’t know better, Megan would have believed Ryan meant them. As if she would ever give him a chance. Money, good looks or charm did not turn her head. Fit and tall with beautiful brown eyes and a wide smile, Ryan looked like a man in his thirties but she knew he was forty-five years old from television interviews.Megan’s head snapped up at the sound of a whimper. She wiped her tears and stood. She straggled down the hallway into her son’s room. Cooper tossed and turned. His gargling bothered her. Ever since Jackson’s death, Cooper had not slept well. Megan patted Cooper on the back until he settled. “Hush little baby, don’t say a word,” she sang before her voice broke. Megan blew air at her bangs. The doorbell chimed.Megan flailed her arms. “That man is so persistent. I’m going to tell him where he can shove that check.” She marched to the door and swung it open. Her eyes widened. “Mr. Manchester?”Jackson’s attorney, Kyle Manchester flashed his five-hundred-an-hour smile. He reminded her of a snake, but Jackson had insisted Kyle was the best.Megan gritted her teeth. “This is not a good time,” she said, and moved to close the door.Kyle stuck his foot in the groove. “Mrs. Higgins, you haven’t returned my calls. It’s urgent that I speak with you.”She pushed against the door. “I don’t have any money. I’ve settled most of my bills and I have a small trust for Cooper but other than that, I’m broke.”Kyle shook his head. “Will you at least let me in?”Megan stepped aside. She resisted the urge to rub the goose bumps popping up on her arms. Kyle made her feel unsettled. He strutted into her living room and sunk into the plush fabric of her couch. Then he plopped his briefcase next to him as if he owned the place. “What do you want? When you took Jackson’s case, your payment was contingent upon a win. It’s not my fault Jackson passed before you got your big paycheck.”“Don’t you mean killed?” He challenged.Megan gulped. Kyle continued. “I’d like to continue the lawsuit proceedings. You’re sick with a young child to care for and no income.”Megan folded her arms. “I have a master’s degree in music. I was a music teacher for ten years. And, I’m not sick anymore, thanks to the healing power of God.”“You were a music teacher four years ago,” Kyle said. “And, I heard all about your healing, but we don’t have to mention that.”She lifted her chin. “I’m not going to deny what God did for me. Ever. My answer is no.”Kyle lifted a brow. He opened the file folder and extracted a piece of paper. “I think you need to read the contract.”Megan narrowed her eyes and took the document. Kyle had a sly look on his face. She scanned the contents before her mouth dropped open. “Why would Jackson agree to pay you even if you didn’t win?”“Because my time is valuable, Mrs. Higgins. Jackson wanted the best and I am that and more. In his defense, Jackson knew we had an airtight case.” Kyle’s greasy smile made Megan back up.“But, I don’t have three-hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars,” Megan said. “You can’t hold me responsible for Jackson’s stupidity.”Kyle stood. “I can and I will.”Megan did not doubt Kyle meant his words. “I wish I hadn’t turned down Ryan’s offer,” she thought aloud.Kyle lifted a brow. “What offer?”Megan swung around and walked toward the front door. She needed Kyle Manchester out of her home. Kyle gripped her arm. He applied enough pressure until she had to face him.She shrugged out of his hold and rubbed her arm. “Ryan offered me a large sum.” Megan bit her bottom lip. Why was she telling Kyle this? Something about him made her want to tell her business. Kyle’s harsh face softened. His eyes salivated. She could almost see the dollar signs. “You should take it. You’ll have enough to pay me and care for Cooper.”Megan shook her head. “I have no intentions of taking Ryan’s blood money. He killed my husband.” Her tongue loosened. “Did you know he had the nerve to ask me to marry him?”Kyle threw back his head and laughed. “I can’t believe my good fortune.”Megan tilted her head. “What good fortune?”He touched her face. “You’re certainly a precious gem.” His voice dropped. “I understand why Ryan’s smitten with you.” His eyes slaked her snug jeans and fitted purple shirt. “I admit I’m captivated. When I first saw you, I wondered how an ape like Jackson landed a woman like you.”Megan drew a breath. “Jackson was not an ape. He was kind and considerate and—”“Not the man I can be for you,” Kyle said. He reached for a tendril of her hair and tugged it hard. “Consider the debt paid if you marry me instead. I wouldn’t mind getting one up on Ryan.”“I’m not a pawn and I find you insulting.” Megan shoved him away from her. She sped to the door and opened it. “Get out.”Kyle cackled. “I’m only messing with you.” In an instant, his demeanor changed and he was all business. “I’ll file a civil suit if I don’t receive my money. I strongly suggest you take Ryan’s check or accept his marriage proposal.”Megan glared. “I’ve been taking care of myself for thirty-eight years, Mr. Manchester. I don’t need you telling me what to do.”“You’re not thinking, my dear.” Kyle moved into her space. “You can help Jackson. Marry Ryan. Get him to love you. Get him to open up to you. You read the Bible. You know the story of Delilah and how she seduced Samson. Be Ryan’s Delilah and bring him to his knees. Use your beauty, and your—” He scanned Megan’s generous frame. “Assets. Make Ryan confess to killing Jackson. What a way to honor your husband.”Kyle’s suggestion tempted her. His words wrapped around her mind. Megan felt compelled to obey his command.“You have such a way with words,” Megan whispered. “It’s mesmerizing.”“So I’ve been told.” Kyle’s bright eyes drew her in. He was stocky and his looks were nothing to brag about, but all of a sudden Kyle was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. His beauty tantalized her. She took a step toward him but Megan saw a shadow. She shivered. “There’s a dark cloud around you,” Megan said. “I can see it.”“I’ve heard that, too.” Kyle countered, not the least bit put off by her words. He leaned close. “I think you can handle me though.”Megan snapped out of her trance. She pointed to the door. “Leave my home.”Kyle reached into his jacket pocket and retrieved a business card. “I won’t stay where I’m not wanted. But, I’ll give you my personal number. You can reach me anytime.”She held the card against her chest. Kyle sauntered through the door. Just before he got in his vehicle, he said, “Call Ryan. You have a young son and you need the help. You never know what can happen. One day Cooper could be fine and the next he could be … Well, you know.”Megan rushed out the door. Her short legs could not compete with the power of his Audi. He whipped around the bend before she reached the curb. Megan slowed. “Jackson, what have you done?” she whispered. Megan scurried into her home and secured the locks behind her. Immediately, she praised God and dispelled any darkness because of Kyle’s visit. She went into Cooper’s room and prayed over him. Cooper stirred.Eyes like Jackson’s observed her before Cooper let out a strong wail. Megan smiled and scooped him into her arms. With practiced skill, she changed him and strolled into the kitchen to make him a bottle. She seated Cooper in the booster chair. She had given up the high chair when he kept comingCooper hollered and banged his fist on the table. His legs pumped back and forth. Megan smiled.“I’m coming. I’m coming.” Megan hummed as she took out the containers of mash potatoes and peas she prepared the evening before. She warmed them and tested the temperature. With a nod, she grabbed a spoon and slid a chair next to her son.Then she bowed her head and blessed his meal.“Amen! Eat!” Cooper said.“Open up,” Megan said. She plopped a dollop of mash potatoes into Cooper’s mouth. She smiled at the joy on his face. If only her problem could be solved with a scoop of potatoes. Once Cooper finished his meal, Megan cleaned him up and tidied the kitchen. Holding him on one hip, she headed to the basement. Cooper tugged on her hair and giggled with glee. Megan extracted her hair from his fist before setting him down to play. Jackson had designed a play area with everything that would entice a little boy. It also helped to keep the rest of the house clean.Cooper waddled over to the mega blocks. Megan cringed at the crash that followed. Blocks were everywhere. Cooper stacked them and some found their way into his mouth. Megan kept wipes handy so she was not concerned. She laughed at her son’s antics and sat in her seat in the sectional. Megan looked at the empty seat next to her. If Jackson were here, he would be fighting with her for the remote so he could watch a sports game. She would tell him to put it on a cartoon channel. There was no one to fight with her now.She reached for the remote and turned on the 65-inch television. She channel surfed before shutting it off. She joined Cooper on the rug.“Sing, Mommy.” Cooper clanged the blocks together.Megan looked in the corner of the room. Her blue guitar, a thirty-sixth birthday gift from Jackson, rested in the corner. “Sing, Mommy!” Cooper said.“Mommy will sing later,” she said. Tears streamed down her face. Megan turned away from Cooper to dry her tears. Besides Cooper she had no one. No family to lean on. She had lost touch with most of her teacher friends.“Want Daddy,” Cooper said.Megan broke. She cuddled Cooper in her arms and allowed the tears to fall. “I want Daddy, too, Cooper. I want him, too but Daddy’s gone.” Pain sliced through her. It was all Ryan’s fault. Kyle was right. Ryan needed to pay. Seven million dollars would not be enough. No, Megan decided. She needed his heart. So she could crush it. Destroy him. Vengeance is mine. Megan heard God’s voice and slumped. She could not break someone’s heart on purpose. But she could get evidence to convict Ryan. She smiled. Yes, she could do that. She pulled Ryan’s card out of her pocket and stared at the number. She bit her lower lip. Could she ask out the devil?She could and she would if it meant finding out how her husband ended up hanging in a bedroom closet. Megan reached for her cell phone.
Ch. 2
I killed someone.Well, I didn’t with my own hands, but I orchestrated it. Well, not orchestrated, but I’m responsible. I had needed someone taken care of. And he was. But, now I have to live with myself.Taken care of. Jackson Higgins had been taken care of. Ryan would never view the words the same again. He faced himself in the rearview mirror. His cell vibrated and Ryan shook the macabre thoughts out of his mind. He swiped to accept the call. “Did you get my text?” he asked, without even a hello.“Yes. I’m on it,” the gruff voice said.“I need to know her every move,” Ryan Oakes said. “If Megan sneezes, I want to know about it.” Ryan disconnected his cell and rushed into Margaux, the restaurant in the Marlton Hotel where his daughter, Karlie Knightly lived. Karlie and her fiancé, Brian Oakes, were seated. He saw they had already ordered appetizers. Karlie had thought about moving into her mother’s home in Hempstead, Long Island, but changed her mind when she got engaged. She and Brian were house hunting. Ryan hoped they would choose a home in Garden City, where he resided.Ryan greeted his daughter with a kiss on the cheek. He went to hug Brian but the young man shifted out of his reach. Ryan scrunched his nose. What was that about? Brian had recently been in a car accident where he had almost lost his life. Ryan and Brian had made peace, so he didn’t understand the cold shoulder. Ryan took his seat and said, “You can hug me. You were my son for twenty-three years of your life. As far as I’m concerned, you always will be.”“Forgive me if I can’t get used to the fact that my former father will be my father-in-law.” Brian shook his head. “I mean who keeps their daughter a secret?”Again, this had been settled or so he thought. Ryan tapped the bridge of his nose. Six years ago, He had taken a paternity test, which proved Karlie Knightly was his daughter. She was the product of a one-night-stand with Tiffany Knightly. Tiffany had been a chart-topper singer before she succumbed to lung cancer.“Brian, I’ve forgiven Ryan so we need to move forward. That’s what God would want us to do.” Karlie swirled a celery stick into ranch dip.Brian rolled his eyes before reaching for one of the soft rolls on the table. Ryan gave the younger man a smile. Then he asked, “How is the album going?”“I’m putting it off until after the wedding,” she said. “We just wrapped up filming the first few episodes of… The network wants to pay for everything.”Ryan lifted a chin. “You don’t need the network. You have me. I’m honored to help.”Karlie slid her gaze from his. “I’m fine, I uh—”“Neil is helping with the wedding,” Brian said. Ryan could see the satisfaction on his face. He challenged him with a stare-down. “I insist. I know Neil won’t mind if we go half.”“I do have money of my own…” Karlie said.Ryan shook his head and took her hand in his. “No. It’s every father’s dream to walk his daughter down the aisle.”Karlie pulled out of his grasp. Brian opened his mouth but she held up a hand. She faced Ryan. He didn’t like the uneasy look she gave him.“I asked Neil,” she whispered. Her eyes pleaded for him to understand.“I think it’s presumptuous of you to expect that honor,” Brian said. “You falsified documents citing your paternity. Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgotten.”Ryan swallowed his disappointment. “You’re right. I had no right to ask.”Karlie reached for his hand. “I’m glad you did. Maybe you both can. I’ll talk to Neil.”Ryan forced a smile. Now that he had his daughter, he didn’t want to share that moment with Neil. Neil had only been in her life since she was sixteen. “I don’t think that will work,” Brian said. He gave Ryan a pointed look. “Mom is bringing a date. What about you?”Megan’s face flashed before him. “I’ll be bringing my wife,” Ryan said.Karlie’s eyes were wide. “You’re married?”Brian snickered. Ryan squared his shoulders. “I’m not as yet. But I will be in a couple weeks. Maybe a month, max. We’re planning a small, intimate affair. This is our second go-round at this so we’re not looking to do anything fancy. We might book the Ritz Carlton.” He just had to convince his bride.“You don’t call that fancy? I think it’s pompous and ostentatious.” Brian jeered.Ryan pulled on his tie. He knew Brian sought to get him riled but Ryan had just met his second wife. Nothing was going to spoil that moment. Not even the sulking man before him. “When are you going to get over it? Patti deceived me. I treated you like you were mine.”Karlie interrupted their standoff. “I had no idea you were dating.”Ryan shrugged. “You’ve been busy. That’s why I’m glad we have this moment to catch up.” His stomach growled. “It’s started already,” Brian said. “He’s going to get all caught up with this mystery woman and forget about you.”Ryan snapped. “I’m here.” “You ignored me for most of my life,” Brian spat. His chest heaved.Ryan relaxed. “I did and I’m sorry.” He looked at Karlie. “I’m a changed man. Better.”She nodded. “I believe you.” She swatted Brian on the shoulder. “Back off,” she warned.“I won’t back off. This man is an imposter and a murderer.”Karlie gasped. “How can you say that about the man who raised you?”“Because it’s true,” he said. “I can’t prove it but I know your father is shady.”Karlie leaned into Ryan as if to shield him from Brian’s attack. Ryan took a tendril of her hair in his hand and rubbed her cheek. “It’s okay,” he said. “I won’t dignify that comment with a response.” Brian stood. “I’m going to get some air.” He looked at Karlie. “I know I said I’d try but this is too much. He killed that man. I can’t prove it but I know it and it...” His voice broke.Brian stormed off. Ryan eyed him. His heart ached. How did Brian know? He shifted. Did Karlie believe him?Karlie’s eyes filled. “I love you both.” She shook her head. “Maybe I’m being naïve for wanting it all. You, Neil, Brian…” “And you will have it all,” Ryan said. She touched her chest. “I’m sorry Brian is coming at you like you’re a ruthless monster. I hate that he doubts what God did for you.”Ryan shifted. He and God were often at odds. God seemed to have a wealth of patience, while Ryan was too wealthy to be patient. He got tired of praying for something to get fixed when he could pay to get it done himself. Karlie jabbed him in the arm. “This is where you’re supposed to agree with me.”“I do. You’d have to be made of steel to resist Pastor Ward’s messages.” What he said was true for ninety-nine percent of the people. He was that one-percent where the word seemed to bounce off his heart.She laughed. “I agree.” Karlie launched into a retelling of the pastor’s last message.Ryan had been a faithful member of Zion’s Hill under Pastor Keith Ward. But a faithful member didn’t equal a faithful follower. Ryan yearned for the word to penetrate his soul but his heart was like titanium. He thought he was unreachable until Megan had turned him into a bumbling fool. He scrunched his nose. Maybe she was the key to his redemption. His do-over. She had a son. Her son needed a man in his life.Why couldn’t it be him?He straightened. It would be him.He knew what he had to do. Ryan kissed Karlie on the cheek, interrupting her mid-sentence. “I’ve got to run.”She nodded. “I know you’re a busy man. I’m glad you made the time.”He tapped her nose. “Always for you.”She grabbed his arm. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”Ryan lifted a brow. “I’m inviting Merle.”Ryan bunched a fist. “She killed Karlie. That woman is a viper. You need to stay away from her.”“She’s my blood. Just like you are.” Karlie’s leveled gaze challenged him.“Fine,” he found himself saying. But he knew it was to appease his daughter. “I don’t want any trouble,” she said. “I’m warning both you and Brian.”“I can’t imagine Neil being okay with this.” Her shoulders dropped. “He’s not. The house shook from his bellowing but it’s time we moved on and put the ugly past behind us. I feel it’s what my mother would have wanted.”Ryan clenched his jaw and gave a terse nod before leaving. Tiffany would have wanted peace but she wouldn’t have allowed Merle to use or abuse her. Merle milked Karlie like she was a cash cow. It was only because Ryan knew Karlie had a great manager why he didn’t intervene. Winona Franks tended Karlie’s finances with the care a botanist gave to plants. Her net worth flourished by the day. His cell buzzed. He knew his eyes were wide when he saw the name on the caller ID. “I’ve got to take this,” he said, and with a wave rushed out the door. He bumped into Brian on his way out but the other man didn’t acknowledge him.Normally, Ryan would have ended the call and confront him, but he was too excited by the caller on the line. If he had his way, this phone call would be the beginning of many more.
Order Your Copy - Coming on or before March 19, 2017.
December 15, 2016
Welcome Cerece Rennie Murphy of the Seducing the Pen Tour
Release date: NOVEMBER 29, 2016Two Souls
One Desire
To Find Each Other...Again
How many times would you die to find your one true love?
The journey begins with Ama and Ekow ~ Two lovers betrothed, then torn apart by an enemy disguised as a friend. And in the midst of an unthinkable bargain, their freedom is sold for a bag of gold. But what their enemies thought would break them only unleashed a power greater than life itself.
From the ancient shores of Ghana to the streets of pre-colonial India,
From the burning embers of Oahu to the heart of a nation’s capitol,
Their souls risked war, death, and betrayal to bend destiny to their will.
Will they survive? Will they succeed? Join them on this timeless journey and see…
Excerpt Part I: In The Beginning
I wait for him here, at the place where the night sky and the earth become lovers. In the tall grass of our homeland, between two kingdoms, we meet. Getting here first is easier than slipping away late, especially now when life in my village is bustling with the preparations for our wedding ceremony in just three days. But as the reeds lick the backs of my calves, I know that this is only part of the reason I wait. The truth is that I like to feel him coming. At this hour, when my imagination reigns over every shape and whisper, I can almost see him walking on limbs taller and stronger than mine will ever be. Cutting through the blue-black night that hides his slightly lighter shade, he stalks his prey. I cannot hear his approach, but I feel him drawing near, compelled by the same force that holds me where I stand – the scent of my desire in the air.
I close my eyes and breathe deeply, imagining I can taste him, too. The flavor is salt, sweet grass and home. It fills my senses and makes me thirsty. On the outside my knees shake and my heart pounds, impatient for her mate, while the deepest part of me grows still – stretching towards the peace that only his presence brings. And he’s close now, so close.
***
When we were children, he was such a scrawny thing. I used to like to wrestle him just to beat him, just to prove that I could. I was young and determined and more than a little jealous of the prowess of my older brothers. Secretly, I wanted to be like them, but my youngest brother was already 10 years my senior by the time I could walk. In Ekow, I could finally prove that no boy could match me. My laughter rumbles in the stillness as I think of it. Oh, how mad he would be every time I beat him! And in the beginning, there were many, many times when I did. He would get so angry that his ears would twitch. He would stomp away from his defeat with his hands balled up in knobby little fists – eyes glaring, ears twitching while one of our elders cackled nearby and me sticking out my tongue. We didn’t see each other often enough for me to beat him everyday, but I looked forward to it whenever I could. I was always stronger than I looked and even when he grew a little taller than me, his limbs seemed to flail awkwardly about him, so that he was never quite coordinated. And in my delicious reign as his tormentor, time seemed to stretch on forever, until one day it stopped.
I remember the sun burned low in the sky that day as the dust and amber light conspired against me in swirling fits that stung my eyes. Rolling around on the ground, I was shocked to find myself panting for air. Suddenly, his legs overpowered me. I couldn’t throw him the way I had been able to before. His grip was a vice that I had to sweat to free myself from and even then, he would catch me again, quickly - too quickly for my liking.
Unable to break free, I grunted and cursed as he pinned me down on my back. At first, I refused to meet his gaze. Beneath my eyelashes, I could swear I saw my own taunting smirk, the same one I had given him, year after year, curling the corners of his lips. Enraged, I shut my eyes to avoid my fears and kicked my legs furiously, all to no avail. I could feel the muscles of his powerful thighs holding me in place without the slightest indication of strain and I couldn’t stand it. As if sensing the scream that would send my brothers flying to my aid and gotten us both into a world of trouble, Ekow suddenly lifted his body from mine, then leaned over to adjust his grip so that our hands were stretched out above my head, palm to palm, fingers intertwined in the grass and the dirt beneath us.
How did I not know, even then…
Something about the gesture was so strange that it distracted me from my fury. The feel of his hands pressed firmly into mine made my stomach flutter and clench in a way that was startling, but not unpleasant.
“Ama,” he called. “Ama, don’t scream. Ama, please, surrender.” It must have been the “surrender” that made my eyes fly open to meet his in absolute indignation. Sometimes, I like to think that if I’d never opened my eyes, it never would have happened, but this is, of course, foolish. I was meant to see. When I opened my eyes, I found him staring down at me. The smirk I’d feared was nowhere in sight. Instead, his eyes wore the same wariness I felt as I looked back at him, then quickly dissolved into something I’d never seen in him before.
He eyed my mouth with what I understand now as a mixture of surprise and captivation. Back then, I still had no idea what was happening, but as his gaze continued to linger over me, I became aware that I felt like someone was seeing me truly for the first time in my life. I remember fighting the nameless emotion that closed my throat and pricked my eyes.
“Ama, surrender,” he whispered, “Please.” And that’s when I understood that I held him in place as much as he held me. Neither one of us could leave without the other. “Please,” he said again and I finally realized what I needed to do all along.
Seeing the answer there in my eyes, he released my hands and rose to his feet. I remember averting my eyes against the sudden sense of loss that came as he left. But at the corner of my vision I saw it, his hand extended out to help me up. He’d done it before, even as I beat him and he’d risen in defeat while I remained holding my belly in victorious laughter on the ground. I’d always ignored the gesture until that moment, when suddenly it felt like the most natural thing in the world to accept his help. When I finally stood, I noticed for the first time that he was a full foot taller than me. Despite my daze, I frowned. “You’re taller than I am,” I said in dismay.
“No, Ama,” he replied. Ekow’s voice was deep and heavy as he stepped forward to take my other hand in his. “We are now exactly the same height.”
I was 13 years old; Ekow was 16 and, after that, nothing between us was ever the same.
( Continued... )
© 2016 All rights reserved. Book excerpt reprinted by permission of the author, Cerece Rennie Murphy. Do not reproduce, copy or use without the author's written permission. This excerpt is used for promotional purposes only.
About the Author
Cerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with writing and science fiction at an early age. It’s a love affair that has grown ever since. In 2012, Mrs. Murphy published the first book in what would become the best-selling Order of the Seers sci-fi trilogy.
In addition to publishing her first time-bending romance titled, To Find You, Mrs. Murphy is working on the release of the 2nd book in the Ellis and The Magic Mirror children’s book series with her son and developing a 2-part science fiction thriller set in outer space.
Mrs. Murphy lives and writes in her hometown of Washington, DC with her husband, two children and the family dog, Yoda. To learn more about the author and her upcoming projects, please visit her website at: http://www.cerecerenniemurphy.com
Order Books by Cerece Rennie Murphy:http://www.amazon.com/Cerece-Rennie-Murphy/e/B008G6XXBS
Listen to Cerece Rennie Murphy's live reading from the book:http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/C7GN8vWk/
CONVERSATION WITH CERECE RENNIE MURPHYCerece Rennie Murphy fell in love with science fiction at the age of seven, watching "Empire Strikes Back" at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C., with her sister and mom. It's a love affair that has grown ever since. As an ardent fan of John Donne, Alice Walker, Kurt Vonnegut and Alexander Pope from an early age, Cerece began exploring her own creative writing through poetry.
She earned her master's degrees in social work and international relations at Boston College and Johns Hopkins School for Advance International Studies, respectively, and built a rewarding 15-year career in program development, management and fundraising in the community and international development arenas - all while appreciating the stories of human connection told in science fiction through works like Octavia Butler's "Wild Seed," Frank Herbert's "Dune" and "The X-Files."
In 2011, Cerece experienced her own supernatural event - a vision of her first science fiction story. Shortly after, she began developing and writing what would become the best selling "Order of the Seers" trilogy. Cerece lives in her hometown of Washington, D.C., with her husband, two children and the family dog, Yoda.
BPM: As a full time writer, how did you get to be where you are in your life today? Who or what motivated you?
Wow, we're starting right in with the deep stuff! OK. You know, I really think that God has led me to where I am in my life today. As a young girl, I never expected to be happily married with two beautiful children. I never expected to be a writer, much less a published author. Honestly, I expected my life to be rewarding career wise and lonely in every other sense. I'd worked hard to get a good education, so I expected to be financially independent. I also knew I wanted children, so I planned to be a mother, but I expected to be on that journey alone. If I got married, I expected to get divorced and have to raise my children alone. I know that sounds pretty bleak, but it's the truth of how I saw my life right up until my early 30s. When I look at my life now, it is very clear that this is God's vision for my life, not mine, and I'm so grateful that God had bigger dreams for me than I ever could have imagined for myself.
But through everything, I always knew that God was with me and I got that knowledge from my mother, who is THE MOST spiritually connected person that I know. She prays without ceasing with a prayer book that was handed down to her from my grandmother who was a PRAYER WARRIOR. Grandma Mary was NO joke! No weapon against her had any hope of prospering! Though she passed more than a decade ago, I know I live in the benefit of her prayers today. These two women, my mother and my Grandmother, are women of incredible faith and courage. I stand on their legacy and it has always motivated me to do and be my best.
BPM: Was there ever a time in your life you let FEAR block your path? If so, how did you overcome it?
Me and fear are well acquainted. Though I don't know if I've ever let fear block my path, it sure has slowed my progress quite a bit. The fear and doubt around writing and publishing the Order of the Seers trilogy was brutal at times. With the second book especially, it was like doing battle every day, just to get a page written. I would cry and shake, convinced that no one would like what I'd written, that I had no talent or no right to do what I was doing.
But the thing about me is that, on some very visceral level, I hate being afraid. I hate letting fear control me. There are many good reasons not to pursue something, fear is rarely one of them. I have been an avid reader since I was 5 years old. I know what a story can do. I know that each story you are given is a blessing from God - a calling. That's why I feel so honored to be a writer, to be given a story to tell. So if I let the fear win, what I'm saying to God is, "You gave me this blessing, but I'm too afraid to share it. I know you would not have given me this blessing if I wasn't equipped to share it, but hey, it doesn't matter. I think my fear is more important than your purpose."Can you imagine saying that to GOD? Yeah, exactly - me neither! My fear of wasting the breathe of God within me trumps almost any fear I have. But that doesn't mean I no longer feel afraid. I think, with each thing I do, I just get better at managing the fear, so that I can get what I need to get done. If that doesn't work, then I remember that the bottom line for me is, these stories are not about me at all. They are about the people who will be blessed, inspired and entertained by them.
BPM: As the author of novels for adults, who does your body of literary work speak to?
I think my work speaks to people who are seeking thought-provoking literature that many not be conventional - readers who want to be spiritually-inspired and entertained. Although Order of the Seers is adult science fiction and Ellis and The Magic Mirror is a children's fantasy adventure, they are essentially about the same thing - people discovering their true calling and power and using that gift to change the world for the better.
Watching the news these days can be a soul crushing experience. It's so easy to be overwhelmed by all the horrible things that are happening. But I believe that ordinary people can save the world. I believe this because I know there is no such thing as an ordinary person. We are all superheroes, but most of us have no idea how powerful we are and so we act like ants when we're actually giants - giants who can see the future because we create the future with our thoughts, our words and our actions. We can do these things because we are children of God and God has given us these abilities.
My writing is all about finding that awareness in myself and helping my readers discover the same truth for themselves because I believe, once we understand our true power, nothing can stop us from healing this world. If you like your spirituality wrapped in an action packed adventure, you'll probably enjoy my books.
BPM: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
Well, first of all, thank you for this wonderful interview. It really gave me a chance to explore my journey in a new light. :-) Recently, Aryeh and I were honored to be the featured authors on the cover of the Winter 2016 Children's Book Edition of SORMAG! To learn more about our journey to writing our first book together, you can get the magazine and read the article here.
If you'd like to learn more about Ellis and The Magic Mirror, you can visit the series website at: http://www.theellisseries.com.
For more on my science fiction trilogy (and me, as a writer), visit http://www.cerecerenniemurphy.com
Twitter at: @cerecermurphy.
Instagram at: https://instagram.com/cerecermurphy
Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cerece-Rennie-Murphy/205753729546299
